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Title: Devola's Stuff
Post by: devola on June 24, 2017, 04:09:46 AM

Browse at your leisure! Let us embark on this road to gitting gud together...

I'll start off by posting my most recent and relevant work.

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These characters are OCs for an RPG I will never make but I like day dreaming about. I like to get to "know" a character before drawing them so I doodle their expressions a lot.

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(http://i.imgur.com/pQ2bA4c.jpg)

A body and angle study done with the character on the right from above.

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(http://i.imgur.com/BJ3jco7.jpg)

Sprite sketches using the same character for a game I will probably never make

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(http://i.imgur.com/lv4ZS3N.jpg)

An OC for a friend, the character on the left and the one on the right are the same characters, she is just a lot younger on the left.

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(http://i.imgur.com/uPUEPNZ.jpg)

Expressions I drew of the character above

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(http://i.imgur.com/Ivymeww.jpg)

Another OC for a friend, she roleplays as this character in a game we play.

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(http://i.imgur.com/9vWZkrq.jpg)

An avatar I worked on for a friend, his only description was "sly"

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(http://i.imgur.com/SgZe4vq.jpg)

LOOK I COLORED SOMETHING, a sprite I actually finished, not for anything in particular

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(http://i.imgur.com/yyv8Vcy.jpg)

Now for some doods

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My boy Ken, his Street Fighter 5 version which I personally really like despite the whole banana hair and gorilla face thing people keep saying about him

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(http://i.imgur.com/OObGLec.jpg)

For Honor was a fun game, I sketched a Kensei a while ago and now I am in the process of digitally redrawing him

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(http://i.imgur.com/1zNad4m.jpg)

Ok so for this character I tried something spicy, I wanted to make a Pirate Prince as an RPG class, so in my attempt to mix "prince" aesthetics with pirate ones, I ended up just making something that looks confused...

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(http://i.imgur.com/TrKSzEA.jpg)

As you can see, I rarely ever actually finish most of my work to "completion", I tend to lose interest or focus rather rapidly and move on to something else. This is something I definitely need to fix, on top of that I want to really challenge myself and push to draw a greater variety of characters. Particularly different body types, skin tones, races, species, perspectives, that kind of stuff.

In the interest of doing something like this I would love to do art exchanges or collaborative works if anyone is interested, I'm hoping with someone there to crack the whip I will actually finish my work... I am also willing to do free "commissions" but the terms will be completely up to me (you can't get mad if the work isn't finished). Also I need help coloring stuff. :unsure:

Yeah I guess commission was a poor choice of words, I meant more that I am willing to take on a project just for practice or fun, thus if you take me up on that offer please don't have any unreasonable expectations.

Uploading more art! This time I decided to work on gesture and expression with the body. Also drawing more than 1 character on screen. So far its just a sketch.

I'm thinking of finishing a set of these of just these 2 characters dancing. An interesting thing to note is by forcing myself to draw my characters doing these movements and actions I've come to understand form and expression through one's body more. In other words, body language. I feel like if anyone else has trouble with "stiff" poses, trying to do something similar to what I am doing has helped me immensely. It's also fun seeing my super "serious" characters do different things and it helps me understand them more when I have to think about how they may look doing these things. Anyway these are just the ramblings of a struggling artist.

Really good stuff. I'm impressed! The dynamic poses look great, although sometimes I question how thin the legs are. Not that I can complain, really, since in some styles (Strawberry Panic comes to mind first) it just kinda happens.

...although sometimes I question how thin the legs are. Not that I can complain, really, since in some styles (Strawberry Panic comes to mind first) it just kinda happens.

I guess you kind of said this yourself already, but when we are talking about manga, things like limb thickness and length of a jaw etc are something that varies according to the style. It's always good to learn realism (if not even necessary), but when developing one's own (manga/cartoon) style, it's really important to just draw the way you are comfortable with. Otherwise you might end up in a situation where your art looks great (realistic proportions) but doesn't really feel like your own.

@Devola Your art is really nice and the poses look great! :) And the proportions look good to me :D Keep up the good work!

...although sometimes I question how thin the legs are. Not that I can complain, really, since in some styles (Strawberry Panic comes to mind first) it just kinda happens.

I totally get what you mean, and its good that you pointed it out, you have a keen eye and I appreciate that you speak your mind Mahlua. Admittedly, I have struggled a LOT with drawing feet, to this day I still don't really get how to draw bare feet. And with that, awesome segue into...

I totally agree, I can work on this issue by simply studying real anatomy more and then just abstracting from there to develop my own style. I did that with other aspects of my drawings, I should totally do that with feet.Thank you for the kind words and the great advice Miska.

I think there used to be a workshop where you draw five feet a day or something around on the site somewhere. The workshops don't get a lot of love these days, sadly. Maybe we can all overhaul and start bringing them back up. I have trouble with feet as well, especially bare feet. They're as intricate as hands, except more rectangular, if that makes sense.

Also, I want to clarify that I didn't mean my statement to disregard your style in any way. I was intending more of "I'm not sure if this is part of your style or something you're working on developing." I'm not sure I accurately gave that impression, and I apologize if it came out wrong.

Also, I want to clarify that I didn't mean my statement to disregard your style in any way. I was intending more of "I'm not sure if this is part of your style or something you're working on developing." I'm not sure I accurately gave that impression, and I apologize if it came out wrong.

No worries, it did not come off that way at all. It is honestly a good question, it is a little hard for me to answer. I definitely did not deliberately INTEND to draw feet as thin as I do right now and they ended up this way likely as a result of me avoiding the need to actually draw full feet. It's good food for thought to think about whether or not it should be considered "style" since it is a result of me being unable to do something.

Cool, cool. As for that question, yeah, we could have an entire thread philosophizing about it. Generally speaking, the only time I don't accept "It's my style" is when it's being used as an excuse to brush away any and all forms of constructive criticism, as some...crap, the only word that's coming to mind is "toys", but that's a graffiti term. Ah well, we'll roll with it. As some toys are apt to do. Basically people posting art that looks like garbage and expecting only "good jobs" or "keep it up".

Art is variable. Style changes. If you want to work on something, work on it until it looks how you want it to look.

When dealing with images, you can actually set the image width or height using BBCode commands. I do this a lot because my phone makes things outrageously huge (like 1200x2400).

What you can do is, with brackets ofc, (IMG height=500)insert your url here(/IMG). The number you put after height or width= is the number of pixels to assign to that quality, so that code would automatically resize the image to 500 pixels in height and keep the aspect ratio. It saves a lot of time.

That said, the image you have there looks pretty good. I'm not sure if I've mentioned, but your style is very similar to the present-day anime style, especially in the angle work of the face and linework in general. Just as a side note, a cool thing you can try for yourself as far as proportions are concerned: the length of your foot matches the length of your forearm. It sounds weird, but if you're flexible, you can put your heel just past your elbow and your toes will probably reach around your wrist. If you're not flexible, you can try it with your shoes.

it's settled. time for you to stop training and going for real work buddy,draw you own manga!!!!

Second this, these studies look good. The poses are nice and drawn out well. I'd say sometimes your lines look a bit off, which is sort of a thing with digital sometimes, but the actual drawings are good. As seen from all the expressions. The one without reference looks good, I'd say you're ready to try some full on stuff as well! It'd look cool.

ARGH COLORING IS HARD, HOW DO I TEXTURE? WHY AM I BAD AT THIS? Sorry for the caps... I definitely need some advice on how to color. This is probably my like 3rd or so attempt at this, I don't think it looks BAD but it doesn't feel like I'm doing it "right"

Anyway, it is incomplete so far but I'm actually writing my story and setting things up right now, this is one of the characters. Her title is Hotaru, haven't named her yet. Also this drawing is incomplete, I need to take a break ._.

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(http://i.imgur.com/FOt9uVo.jpg)

Thanks for the encouraging words Shane.

@Manimal, You are absolutely right about my lines, I've just been manually cleaning them up as I go but I often miss stuff and it starts getting tedious doing it so I just leave it. Is there anyway to make this process easier or do I have to just buckle down and go through each drawing with a fine comb to fix those messy lines?

ARGH COLORING IS HARD, HOW DO I TEXTURE? WHY AM I BAD AT THIS? Sorry for the caps... I definitely need some advice on how to color. This is probably my like 3rd or so attempt at this, I don't think it looks BAD but it doesn't feel like I'm doing it "right"

I don't really get why people here on MR dislike colouring :sadbye:. In fact, I love to colour and find it helpful to relax. :thumbsup:

ATM, I can't really give advice as I don't know what your target goal is for colour, both minor and major. Once I know what you aims and style are, then I can offer my advice. :thumbsup:

Hey hey welcome, and very nice studies! I actually prefer the sketches tbh, as I do often. Just like the lively lines, that often get lost with inking (in my pics also). :clapping:

I do see the problem with the feet you got, but I think that was discussed earlier - if I can help you, just tell me :D I'm still struggling with them myself, but might be a bit further in understanding and be able to give some useful advice.

Your anatomic understanding and feel for dynamic movement is fabulous! Makes me wanna look into some details, hope you don't mind pointing some minor issues out. On your coloured character T_T I'm so sorry. Maybe it helps for the next drawing.

The left stance has a beautiful tension to the torso, which I really like. But while the torso is looking left, the legs are frontal. Als the knee that is in the back needs to be a bit highter due to perspective. You can actually stand like this, but it would be very uncomfortable because you would twist the hips to the front - maybe like this it would be a bit more natural. Also, hands look good on adult characters if they are roughly the size of the face (not the head!) So a fist is about half the face.

The right stance is quite contrary to the left one, it looks very formal. If you wanted some dynamic like in the left one, you could try moving the left leg a bit back; if it's what you wanted to express that the character has two sides, it's good like it is. If you correct the feet a bit, the lower legs would move a bit to the back to adjust the feet going more to the front.

But this is really advaned advice I'm giving here, and dynamic movement is very much what I love most, so. What tools are you using for drawing / colouring? I started colouring only a year or two ago and remember how it felt at first... urgh. I fell'ya XD

Thank you so much for the advice Gabryel, I think you nailed the issues spot on. I've corrected them and the picture "feels" much better. I'm using Clip Studio Paint for drawing and coloring right now. Coloring is still rough for me, it's just so tedious and I can never get it to look anything better than amateur ._.

OK! Big news and huge announcements incoming. I've started work on my first major project since joining MR... Introducing...

The Road of the Sun!

The working title for a small game I am programming, doing art for and possibly attempting music for. The game is an RPG in the same style as the Etrian Odyssey games but inspired more by Banner Saga and The Oregon Trail. Its meant to be a shorter experience telling a more personal story. I will be releasing a story synopsis and prototype as I get closer to finishing the project. For now, I will introduce the characters.

The game will feature 8 Main Playable characters and a 9th character who's appearance and design are determined by the player's actions. For now I will be introducing the 4 main female characters, followed by the 4 main male characters. I will try to upload a completed character design at least once a day on days I am not working! Look forward to one of the characters being revealed today! For now, have this teaser that showcases the character's silhouettes. One of the characters you've already seen, she has been completely redesigned!

:O you can draw AND program?! I'm so jealous T_T Programming is something I really want to learn but on my first attempt I had to learn that it won't come easy to me. I wish yoou best of luck with your big project and I'm looking forward to see what's coming!

@K-Seki I'm glad you like it! I'm having fun designing these characters and I look forward to introducing them!

@Gabryel Haha, programming is my true calling, I went to college for it. I actually only recently got back into art! Don't worry if it doesn't come easy right away; programming is tedious but not difficult at all. Once you start understanding how it works, you'll learn it very fast!

And with that, like I promised, 1 character a day on days that I am not working...Introducing the magnificent, the amazing, the professional *censored* disturber...

Laguna the Swamp AMAZING Witch!(http://i.imgur.com/VIBTzmU.jpg)

Unfortunately due to my ineptness at coloring, I wasn't able to finish shading, coloring and fixing Laguna up yet but I was too excited to not introduce her!

Laguna is one of the playable female characters in The Road of the Sun. She may act like a kind and caring individual, but be careful around her... she is ALWAYS planning something nefarious. Laguna's hat is the source of her power, she uses it to channel her spells and wreck havoc on her enemies but only when she feels like it. Unfortunately for Laguna, the hat has a mind of its own and while it sits on her head, it can read her mind as well. The hat has a nasty habit of speaking everything Laguna thinks out loud, revealing her truly nasty and judgemental personality. Who is this mysterious witch? Is she a friend or a foe? Stay tuned as more characters are revealed!

As an added bonus, from this point on, Laguna and her hat will be introducing the rest of the cast. Thank you for taking the time to join me on this little project.

Looks very good so far (I won't make any correction because you're already this far lol), it even looks almost finished with the hard shading; gives the looks of an anime character and the idea of the hat is nice. I could never ever put it on myself XD People would lynch me if they all knew what I think.

Ok well if you ask for it... *Now this is up to taste, but you draw your abdomes awefully long. The chest ends about where the waist is, and from there, it goes quite straigt to the hip/buttocks region so I would pull it up a bit and make the hip region longer. Also the one leg was shorter than the other and the thigh was a bit soo skinny at the top.

I used the additional space for some general tips for example on how to make ellbows look better - try drawing the outer lline first because it's easier to orient on the outer line than on the inner one. If you are normal weight, the ellbow will look quite pointy because the region around is a bit soft and rounded - if you give it a small curve - pointy-curve, it will look very natural. When drawing the inner line, think about what part is in front and give that part a little longer line to give the arm perspective. I'll make a special on that one some time as it is incredible how just 2 mm can affect a pic so much.

Also, try seeing the foot as a brick that is a bit smaller to the front. The foot form is so complex, I still struggle with making it look good x_X but it's a start.

Yes I did ask for it lmao, but thank you so much for taking the time to do this!

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(http://i.imgur.com/dkPTMEj.jpg)

Here I attempted to make the corrections, I raised the hip but kept the legs the same height. Thickened the upper thigh on her right leg as well to reflect the change. Her butt is higher up and slightly longer but its a little hard to see. I made some small changes to the elbows and feet but I'm not sure if I quite got it right yet on those. Thank you so much again Gabyrel, getting it right is more important to me than getting it done.

I'm vaguely reminded of some of the fanart I've seen of Mindfang from Homestuck, but I'm pretty sure that's just the hair. The corrections do look smoother overall. I look forward to seeing the next new design reveal.

And damn, Gabyrel, you've been killing it lately with these overlays and suggestions.

Mann I'm definitely a fan of your style! As a gamer, I like the videogame vibe I get when I'm looking at your characters. The other thing I like is when artists have a good understanding of how important anatomy is, which is always cool. You're actually trying to bring a videogame to life (which is one of my dreams), you deserve huge props for that. I'm rooting for you and I'm looking forward for more!

I'm vaguely reminded of some of the fanart I've seen of Mindfang from Homestuck, but I'm pretty sure that's just the hair. The corrections do look smoother overall. I look forward to seeing the next new design reveal.

And damn, Gabyrel, you've been killing it lately with these overlays and suggestions.

:3 Thank you Mahlua. Happy to help, also it's helping me to find topics how to go about my art class. I just feel bad sometimes when I say stuff about works that are already finished ^^° I know I hate starting over T_T

So I promised at least 1 reveal on every day I'm off work... unfortunately that may not be possible for at least the remainder of this week and next week. Busy time for me :hmm:

Instead, I will upload the initial designs for 2 characters as I slowly chip away at finishing them! Without further adieu, introducing:

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Eve, the Living Armor! The youngest daughter of a fallen kingdom, driven by an unshakeable belief in her destiny; she sets forth on this perilous journey to prove her worth. Naive and idealistic, Eve's powerlessness forces her to seek aid from the darkest depths of mankind itself. With this dangerous power, the symbol of her nobility, the very armor that protects her has become her own living prison.

Eve is nigh invincible in her armor, but she is on borrowed time as the armor slowly consumes her. As a result of this symbiotic relationship, she is in constant pain yet despite this, she is still devoted to protecting her allies. In the end, her faith in mankind remains unshaken.(http://i.imgur.com/gzo4uGj.jpg) Artist Notes: Tried to focus on her expression, to show the pain she is in. And tried to make her armor look like it was mutating into something weird from the brilliant armor she used to wear.

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Nyle. Just Nyle, as he would say. Disinterested and apathetic to the demise of the world, Nyle just wants to keep floating on. Nyle is no warrior, he is a writer. Or at least he thinks he is. Most of his friends would describe him as a terribly boring person. Nyle volunteered to embark on this journey where no others from his homeland would. A scribe and a recorder at heart, Nyle's nature belies his true power. For within Nyle's blood is the blood of an ancient sorcerer, capable of rendering written word into reality. It's all just too bad for poor old Nyle that he doesn't have a single creative bone in his body.(http://i.imgur.com/M86IJDe.jpg)

I will try to finish these ASAP! Thanks as always for the support guys.

Hey hey interesting characters :D so this time I'm gonna barge in before you colour it XD Nyle looks good like he is, I see how you used the tips on the feet and knees, they look so good! only thing is, that the left (his left) knee and foot could be a bit lower than the right one because of the perspective. Else: flawless. Yes you do draw long legs but it's still not as bad as some CLAMP works.

Eve though I don't like very much. You state you went for expression of pain and I guess you mean the facial expression. My first thought was not that she could be in pain but that she is mad at someone maybe. Expression never only ends with the face, you speak alot with body language. But I'm getting to that.

I am not sure what kind of situation she is supposed to be in, so maybe these facial expressions aren't what you were looking for. But typically, if you are in pain, you either cry out loud if you can't bear it anymore but then you wouldn't be standing. If you have a contant but bearable pain, you will most likely clench your teeth and squint your eyes, which you can btw show very good with that tiny little line below the eye. Try drawing an eye, and then putting that line there. If you find the sweet spot, you'll be amazed on how it changes the expression. It's rather near to the eye because it's basically the eyelid being pushed into a crease. If it's too low it will look tired (grommets), plus give it a little curve. Imagine the cheek pushing upward, then you should get there. The lower one would show a character that appear more weak and suffering, while the upper one is more grim and determined.

Body language: Typically, if you are in pain, you will bend forward a little. This is a protective mechanism and a reflex of your body to protect our soft belly. You will draw the shoulders forward and it is very uncomfortable to bend backwards because you need to activate more muscles to hold your balance. If you want to express a constant pain, you should consider this already when choosing the pose to max out the expression you are looking for. Now the two poses at the bottom don't look anywhere near good *cough* I apologize. But maybe you get the idea.

Once again you come to my rescue ._. And once again thank you so much for the feedback Gabryel! I will begin making revisions ASAP! As for the context, it would probably help to explain haha. These are meant to be splash images of the characters during combat when you select them for actions. So it is meant to look a bit more active. But regardless I agree that the expression and body language could use work on Eve.

Thank you so much for taking the time to help again... I'll try my best to help you too wherever I can!

Mann I'm definitely a fan of your style! As a gamer, I like the videogame vibe I get when I'm looking at your characters. The other thing I like is when artists have a good understanding of how important anatomy is, which is always cool. You're actually trying to bring a videogame to life (which is one of my dreams), you deserve huge props for that. I'm rooting for you and I'm looking forward for more!

btw If you want to do an art trade, I'm always down to do it :)

Thanks! You can see right through me haha, I drew these with every intention of trying to express that video game vibe. I am up for art trades as soon as my life calms down a bit, I barely have time to work on these at the moment but after EVO2017 I should have more time.

Ok, made some adjustments. Rushed this sketch a bit to get it done before my break is over... Hopefully this communicates that she is in pain better! I created this character with the intention to communicate how despite how much pain she is in, she will still protect her allies no matter what.

Ok, made some adjustments and I think I am pretty satisfied with this for now! Going to move on to coloring once I add the finishing touches and hopefully wrap up the first half of this project in the next few days.

As thanks for everyone that has helped so far, I'm going to make a little something to show my appreciation for all of you guys as well. I'll try my best to provide feedback and assist anyone I can the same way all of you have helped me! Once again, thank you everyone!

Thanks Gabryel! There were some extra errors I spotted so I'm just doing some minor corrections.

-Update-

Sorry for the lack of posts in the past few days, I'm trying to design a functioning UI and this is way harder than I imagined. Aside from that, life has a way of catching up and interfering when you least expect it... Nothing major but things may be updated slower than I intend to at least until after July 17th. I will still try to post more artwork as soon as I get it finished though!

Gahhh, life keeps getting in the way of art ._. I wish I could just draw all day instead of having to work. Ah well, first world problems ::)

Anyway, now for some art. This is a redoing of Eve, one of the characters I had previously designed. I wasn't too happy with her concept and it never quite "clicked" while drawing her so I've redesigned her as a similar but different character.

Just a quick warning, I do use crosses in this character design sketch but the character is not strictly Christian and if this offends anyone, I apologize!

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Introducing... Saint Estelle! Her concept is similar to her previous version. She was a mercenary that chose to pay the ultimate price to rekindle hope in humanity. Possessed by the seraph of snow, Sahariel; Estelle strives to right the wrongs of her past and find her redemption... or her punishment in this dying world. Will she find what she seeks before her soul is claimed or will she succumb to regret and fade with the rest of the world?(http://i.imgur.com/dXTC4ef.jpg)

Now onto other matters. In a nutshell, now that I have more time to actually draw, I will continue uploading and seeking feedback from all of you! I just want to thank everyone again for being so supportive, it is really awesome how this place encourages people to express their creativity.

It all looks nice, although perhaps if you gave her boots a more prominent heel it wouldn't look quite so much like she's standing on her tip-toes. It's not a bad pose as it is, though, since I'm fairly certain being on tip-toes and having your knees slightly bent is a martial arts pose...of some sort.

Thanks Mahlua, good that you pointed that out because I completely missed it. I wasn't intending for her to stand on her heels or be wearing them but it definitely looks like it.

As an added bonus, here is a quick sketch of Sahariel, seraph of Frost!This was inspired by Peter Mohrbacher's Angelarium works. The design is a little TOO similar at the moment to the Angelarium so I will probably be refining this. Sahariel is meant to be like Estelle's "stand" (a la Jojo's Bizzare Adventure).

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(http://i.imgur.com/nTS7KB5.jpg) The blue stuff is meant to be like water/ice pouring from him

Wowow very good! Saint Estelle is in fact so good, there is no major issue I could point out. Your feet are much better on the new pics - to fix the issue Mahlua was pointing at, you could make them just slightly bigger now. They are about headsize, which is right with normal anatomy, but because you draw very long legs, you have to fit the size of the feet to the legsize so it doesn't look weird.

And yeeeeeah yeah I know I can never be just content and quiet XD One thing adjustable on the pose is, to make it look more well balanced, I would move the leg on the right a bit further. But this is very adfvanced mimimi.

(http://kringelkatze.de/wp-content/uploads/2017/07/sketch13.jpg)

But Sarahiel, so good! Feet and hands are very good, maybe the lower leg of the raised leg is a bit longer than the other. But the pose is very good, I'm looking forward to see it finished!

Ahhh, thank you for coming to my rescue once again Gabryel! I'm really happy that I'm making fewer mistakes :D

I had already started on the finalized line work for Estelle but I will make adjustments to try and improve it. I did take the time however to refine Sahariel like I said I would, and I think it turned out much better!

(http://i.imgur.com/6jNOrnF.jpg)

So I tried something very different with Sahariel. I don't normally draw this kind of stuff so it was kind of a struggle. I wanted to make him appear divine but other wordly and almost alien like. I used Hindu gods as the inspiration, since I noticed their odd complexion and many arms made them feel divine. I'm trying out a few things with this sketch so I will adjust more once I understand my concept for him better. I hope he looks creepy though!

Definitely looks creepy. Reminds me of the Net Sphere Engineers from Blame! A sort of Divine version of those murderous cybernetic constructions. I love the flow and line work. Really great detail and every armour piece seems logical. Awesome Devola

Thanks Lego, I haven't read Blame! before but I looked up what those things look like. I don't know anything about the series but just from the search images it looks really interesting.

Had a rather slow day today so I decided to doodle something for fun and practice. I wanted to draw my characters together in a line kind of like the ending to Carnival Phantasm. The image contains some character designs I have yet to release of the 8 main characters in my story, so I guess this is a sneak peek of what they currently look like. Of course, 2 characters are still missing. I've created a temporary abomination at the end of the picture as a place holder. I honestly don't know what it is or what I was thinking... but it's creepin on my characters for no real reason.

Spoiler

(http://i.imgur.com/6RqdMvW.jpg)

This is the ending to Carnival Phantasm for anyone that is curious what I was going for:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AqkXGHNzgbA

Now for a quick update~Since I am finally done designing (and redesigning) the main characters a million times, I'll finally get around to introducing them properly along with the story of the game. I'll also be releasing the leitmotifs for each character once I get around to doing them (there is a lot on my plate at the moment).

There will be a full fledged illustration for each of the main 8 characters to introduce them and luckily, double as actual CG I will be using in the game. This is also one of my biggest artistic undertakings so I will appreciate any and all feedback!

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(http://i.imgur.com/Er0PznZ.jpg)Work in progress sketch of Estellise. The picture is titled "Will I be remembered?" I'm not too satisfied with her left arm's position at the moment so that may change, still trying to figure out the right background but I have a few ideas ready to try out

Ooh, the facial expression really works for the title. As far as the background, I see a lot of reddish purples in my mind, like smoke in the distance after the battle is done. But, of course, that's just my perception based on this current sketch. Perhaps for you, a clear blue sky for contrast of the internal struggle better fits what you're trying to present.

That probably best sums up how I feel right now. I had a bad day at work but all of that went away the moment I logged on here.

Seriously though, thank you so much Shane, it really means a lot. This is probably the first time anyone has done any fan art of my characters and I really appreciate it. There is nothing more motivating to see than something like that. It was very kind of you do to this. :clapping: This feeling was so powerful for me, I feel I should do the same for someone else on the forum. Maybe it'll kick them into action like it did for me too.

@MahluaYeah I actually originally intended to use a color scheme close to the one you mentioned. Oddly enough, the palette was actually lifted from a Bob Ross episode and it worked quite well. Now that I have the colors actually set though, I'm thinking of reworking it a bit. These illustrations are kind of the introduction to the story and the characters. It's in media res, showing the characters at their lowest points but also the turning point in their adventure so a brighter more "hopeful" palette might work better. I'll experiment a bit more with color and I'll be back for suggestions, but thank you once again for the feedback!

@GabryelGABRYEL SHISHOU! That is a great pose for the arm. I was having a /lot/ of trouble dealing with the arm positioning but thank you so much for the suggestion. I will make adjustments and post up the different variations I have done up.

I'm looking forward to doing some fanart for other people, so you can look forward to that Shane ;D

As for my story, I will upload details about it once I'm closer to finishing a prototype, for now it's all just concept art. If you want to hear more about it though, you should join the Discord! I get a lot of feedback from people that are on it atm and it's a good place to bounce ideas in real time.

Sorry for the lack of an update for the past few days, work and life have been catching up. Here is a quick update on my WIP. I'll be back into the full swing of things now that I have more time off.

I applied the suggestions given, here is the adjusted pose!(http://i.imgur.com/eLIMpjd.jpg)

Yep, you are absolutely right Shane. It is not going well right now ._.

But I'm toughing it out! It's difficult but it's out of my comfort zone and I feel like I'm learning new techniques every minute. Hopefully I'll have something presentable in the next few days!

In the mean time, here is some concept art of enemy designs. I'll be uploading these whenever I get around to finishing them.

(http://i.imgur.com/eOdxBjJ.jpg)

A Lancer from a land known as Ecclesia. Ecclesian knights are renowned for their ornate armor and their unshakeable faith in their God. Ecclesian Lancers are a terrifying presence on the battlefield, few have been able to pierce their defenses. With the corruption of the Ecclesian church, these warriors are now possessed by a maddening rage that drives them to purge any and all non believers.

@ShaneYeah tell me about it, the concept art itself is killing me. Though at least now I'm about 80% done the sketches so I have all my plans laid out. Now I just need to buckle down and get the final versions done.

Another update incoming! With this character done, all that remains are the last 2 male characters, then I'm done the main character!

Spoiler

This character's previous name was Hotaru and I completely reworked her! She didn't quite feel like she had the same impact the other characters had visually so I redesigned her to take on a more unique appearance and design. Her new name is QB. It does stand for something but right now it is a mystery... She is a mage from the far east. In her homeland, magic works a little differently. It is intrinsically tied to art, and so she must "draw" her spells with her giant calligraphy brush. The symbols on her belt are all made up and designed to look vaguely Chinese. Her form of combat is to wield her brush like a spear but she also draws symbols to summon ancient beasts.

Thanks Lego! The symbols on her sash are the symbols she uses to cast her spells. 3 characters together form a word and when she draws the complete word it does magical stuff. You can think of her belt like a dictionary she uses as a reference to remember all the words she needs to know.

A little hard to say actually. She's more of a support than a powerful combatant though she does have the potential to be quite dangerous. Her brush staff isn't the most physically devastating weapon so at most she can only beat people with it (though thanks to her physical stature she is quite good at this).

QB gets very dangerous however if you give her enough time to write out the summoning symbols for the more powerful creatures. Given enough time, if she can write an entire epic or story, the monster she can summon could potentially destroy armies.

For example, if she manages to write all 7 names of the southern stars she can summon Suzaku the Vermillion Bird and scorch her enemies in devastating fire. Or the 7 names of the western stars and summon Byakko, the White Tiger who will freeze all her enemies with frostbite. Her abilities are all very rooted in Chinese mythology (I should be using the Chinese names of the Four Symbols and not their Japanese names :sure:).

Hellooooo devola :heart: Another awesome character, you are like a well of ideas! If I may, I have some suggestions on the anatomy, but before I go into details, I want to say how impressed I am by the improvement you've shown in just a few weeks!!! It is refreshing to see an artist who sets aside his ego, takes in any kind of advice or help , even the smallest hints, and focusses on improving in a modest manner like yours. I draw my hat, and when you hit any point in your project where you need help, please feel free to ask me!

At first, I just felt something is off with the ellbow and I am not quite sure if I fixed it tbh. But maybe the issue is because of the staff - the more you strech out the arm, the more difficult it seems to stay behind the staff. The hand could probarbly drawn more from the side than I did to better show where the arm is supposed to be - to the back. Now, if you strech up your arm, the breast on that side is pulled upwards and flattened a bit - with just a small adjustment, you'll gain even more tension to the already good pose. You like to draw poses with one leg lifted, and often that liftet thigh is a bit too short and also thinner than the other. Judging from the perspective, I'd say there is no shortening, so maybe just have the courage to draw it a bit bigger anyway, even if it feels too long at first. It's your style to draw long legs, and in some poses it can look exaggerated on the first glance, but I am positive it will balance out with the whole figure :)

@LegoI do not know Chinese specifically but I get the general idea behind the characters. Those characters on her sash are actually all made up from what I can vaguely remember about Chinese characters haha.

@GabryelThank you Gabe, it means a lot hearing that from someone. It's a great feeling knowing I've got a lot of awesome people like you willing to help a total stranger like me and I don't want to take that opportunity for granted at all! Once again, thank you for the tips and the lines. I left it as a sketch this time so I'm looking forward to working on the finished version!

Thanks for the resource! I tried some of the Kanji and here is what I got... I'm definitely a bit worried about using real Chinese characters because of how badly I'm writing them so I might just go back to using fake ones. Anyway, here she is after applying the advice! Hope she looks better!

Spoiler

(http://i.imgur.com/dIs9cpp.jpg)I added a few new elements to her outfit. I was listening to some Tibetan death metal while doing this so I wanted to give her a bit more "attitude". It's not shaded at the moment but the black stripes on her arms are actually tattoos. Going for that Chinese punk girl feeling with my usual fantasy anime flair, hopefully it comes across ok!

@GabyrelCouldn't have done it without you! I don't know if I've mentioned it enough already but I seriously appreciate all of your help ;D

@WalterBI appreciate the kind words Walter, thanks for dropping by!

@Rusted_GearDanmachi was a fun show for me to watch! I never noticed that my art style was similar to it so that's good to know. I'm mostly influenced by Takashi Takeuchi, the artist for the Fate series and a lot of studio Trigger works so the resemblance is interesting! Thank you for the kind words.

Quick update... tried coloring again today but I got kind of bored and started doodling some stuff. Haven't done that in a while... I forgot that drawing can just be fun to pass time instead of constantly trying to push myself.

Spoiler

(http://i.imgur.com/1iFaR7y.jpg)I know there's a part that's kind of messed up on her hair, mostly just experimenting at the moment. I don't really know what the "proper' way to color something is D:

Spoiler

(http://i.imgur.com/Xora3wq.jpg) This is a doodle mostly just for fun, I'm not expecting to go anywhere with this picture but I must admit I had fun drawing this. It is Estelle and QB playing guitar together, but I drew Estelle without her upper armor on. I've been meaning to do a yuri picture for these two but haven't gotten around to trying it out yet so it was actually fun being able to do something like this, even if it was just a doodle. I think I want to do more yuri stuff, for some reason I'm kind of into it.

This is probably the biggest undertaking I've done so far and I'm gonna focus on completing this one before moving on to finish my other millions of projects still waiting to be completed.

Spoiler

(http://i.imgur.com/NS633HJ.jpg)So this is supposed to be the cover art for the soundtrack I am working on. It's a mess right now but I thought it would be good to show what I've put together so far. The background is still kind of up in the air, I have several scenes planned out. Basically, it's going to showcase every character in some capacity, listening to music and fiddling with an instrument I feel is appropriate to their character. My background is still very basic, I imagined the characters would be standing in a small patio restaurant underneath a canal bridge. I think the way I drew QB and Estelle playing the guitars together came together well. Still planning out how to set the other characters into the scene...

As someone who is very weak at backgrounds: Find a nice ref pic you can base the room off from and add detals later. Also, start with the room, not the figures, because ypu will do the chars just fine in the environment, but it will be messy to make a background on existing figures. I know this from painful experience.

@Gabryel Ahhh! What happened to your pen??I now understand what you mean by starting with the room first. This was really my first attempt at establishing a scene and yes, trying to orient the background based on the figures is a nightmare. I tried to brute force it this time because I am too in love with the way I drew my characters so I sketched several various background scenes and I think I've come to a sketch I like. I definitely should have used a reference picture, I just followed this guide that talked about establishing eye level, sight lines, vanishing points, etc... And tried to construct a plausible background from it. I feel like this is closer than my previous attempt. We will find out when I actually detail everything and clean stuff up!

I love how this image is turning out, @devola! It's neat we're both making witch Manga, I love that i can see how different they are from eachother! I'm also glad someone else in the forum notices the glory of witches! :D

@ShaneYou have no idea how much I want to do that right now... but I have to see this through!

@SlamjamThank you! I love your work, I don't know if I've commented on your gallery yet but I did browse it and I hope to see your work come together as well. Witches are definitely awesome. :clapping:

So I was gonna sleep but I couldn't put the pen down. It's been a while since I've been this motivated! The spooky thing is, I think this picture is coming together somehow... I'm gonna keep refining this sketch and fixing things up until I get it right. Thank you so much to everyone that's helped me so far. I feel like in the few days I've been on this forum I've really gotten better and more motivated to attempt harder things and push myself. And that's thanks to everyone here. I am truly grateful for all the support.

Thanks Lego, it's been a real struggle to set the scene and get everything placed but I'm glad it's turning out OK! Oddly enough I was listening to a bunch of anime openings while drawing this. Go figure haha.

And now for a small interlude... Here is a GIANT MUSHY THANK YOU, to the MR community and everyone here! I wanted to thank all of you personally but this is really the only way I know how. There are definitely more people I want to thank too so if you aren't in this batch... you have something to look forward too!

So introducing my take on the MR community... as high school students!

Spoiler

(http://i.imgur.com/CjuFt4P.jpg)(apologies if I offended anyone that I drew... I have absolutely no idea what you look like and this is based purely off my imagination!

Once again, a huge thanks to all of you. Moderators and Hasith, you guys as well for starting and running this awesome community!

Took a while (which may or may not be a curse considering some threads here have 20+ pages) but I made it to the end. I could learn a thing or two from you regarding feminine figures to be honest. You make dynamic poses look really easy.

@SlamjamThanks man! I knew Bobby was a girl, I just for some reason ended up drawing her pretty androgynous. Guess that was my impression of her. Based on your profile pic, I can tell I'm gonna have fun drawing you. ;D

@ShaneIt's actually a pen that she is holding. I wonder how I'm even gonna draw you Shane...

@BrandenThank you for taking the time to browse! Feel free to ask me for any help if you need it!

Update time:This heatwave is killing me, it's making it impossible to work without feeling enervated from all the sweating and humidity... I did manage to scribble out some designs today though. Now that I've finished designing the main cast and started working on the illustrations, I feel it's a good time to start releasing the designs for the antagonists. A lot of this is without much context as I haven't uploaded my story yet, but please bare with me!

Introducing... Jedah and Eliza! They are 2 of the 4 primary antagonists of my story known as the Saints. They are those among the populace that have been blessed with the power of the Seraphs. They were chosen to lead and guide those that have gone astray; to forcibly return them to the path of righteousness. Jedah and Eliza were designed with these phrases in mind. "Love what you ruin." "Ruin what you love."

Spoiler

Jedah, the man on the left is possessed by the angel of pride Harel. Jedah is a man of lofty ambitions barely tolerated by the Church. His ability to suppress the angel of Pride is the only reason he was anointed Saint-hood. He fights not for peace or salvation, but to ensure that no beauty ever surpasses his own. Thus anything not worthy of his affection, he must bring to ruin. He fights with gauntlets made of blessed steel.

Eliza, the woman on the right is a unique case. The angel of rage, Alef cannot be contained in a human vessel. The last vessel failed to endure Alef's endless rage, leaving this sacred sacrifice now to Eliza. Despite her inability to withstand Alef, the Church dresses her in saintly armor and parades her about, even as they chain her. The truth of the matter however is much darker than it may seem. Alef may have taken a liking to this new vessel... She fights with her own blood, bones and flesh.

Why yes, yes it is. The concept came from a pretty funny conversation I was having with a friend the other night. Basically, we were bouncing ideas until the topic landed on "bondage" and "knights". Essentially how armor can sometimes look like cages or restraints. I liked the idea because "restraint" was one of the words I used for the design. Her current design is however, still in flux. I don't know if we'll be keeping the gag or if it is even appropriate...

Well, I mean, it's doing its job: silencing the wearer. Just because it's a little risque these days doesn't have to mean that it has a sexual connotation in your story. In that sense, I believe it's still appropriate.

It occured to me while drawing the antagonists that perhaps I've made them a little too generically "bad". Gonna go back to the drawing board on these guys, I want them to be the antagonists to the protagonists but not necessarily bad people.

New words I'm using to inform the redesigns will probably be: Noble, Heroic, Merciless, SacrificeFor reference, the words I used to design the main characters were: Rebellion, Fearless, Selfish, Indomitable

That is exactly the reason I do it. I find that I have a lot of trouble just coming up with designs without at least putting a few of the most important themes to words. Even after that, I find myself constantly checking to see if I am communicating those particular words when I draw. It's a really good constraint because without it I tend to lose track of where I was going and just end up scrapping designs due to a lack of vision.

This is probably good advice for anyone wanting to design their own outfits/"feeling" for their characters. Try coming up with 4 or 5 words that embody what you are trying to draw!

I'll have to try that. Connecting words to a vision that is. Most of the time, I just start with a shape and work from there.Reminds me in John Wick 2, when John asks for a weapon that is "robust and precise."

In anycase, I really like the way you bring out your expressions on every character. They fit their pose and design so well. I just love expressions on they bring characters to life. Its something i've been meaning to work on. Let me see more plso.

@FlamesYou can probably already tell. I am a pretty huge fan of the Persona games. After doing this, I had to go rewatch the Hiimdaisy Persona 4 comics on youtube. Hopefully when I get some more time, I will do some real Persona fan art!

So, I finished up Belia's design and now I'm working on the last of the Saints. This one I'm having a LOT of fun with, it's something /quite/ different than what I normally do.

Spoiler

I lied, still have to do her sword ._.(http://i.imgur.com/LHMqTlW.jpg)

Now this next one... remember all that talk about yuri? WELL I TRIED IT.(This piece isn't NSFW but I don't know what the forum rules are for yuri/yaoi content, so please let me know if it's not allowed)

Spoiler

And I kind of like it... not just yuri though. Doing less like actiony/edgy pictures and doing something a bit more romantic with more subdued emotions was an interesting thing to try.(http://i.imgur.com/YVygyHO.jpg)Now there is actually more to this picture, I've done about 3 or more "panels" if you will though I am /pretty/ sure they are not strictly forum friendly... as a result I unfortunately cannot post them here but maybe when I fire up my old deviant art account I can throw them up there.

Finished sketching out the prelim design for the last main antagonist. Once I'm done this, I can finally settle down and get to finishing all the grunt work. Will be working on completing UI and the full illustrations next!

Now let's properly introduce all the antagonists...

Spoiler

Jedah, Saint of Purity. Host to the angel of Pride, Harel.Eliza, Saint of Temperance. Host to the angel of Rage, Alef.Belia, leader of the Saints and Saint of Dragonslaying. Host to the angel of Supremacy, Elohim.Hangaku, Saint of Peace. Host to the angel of War, Izrafel(Former member) Estelle, Saint of Order. Host to the angel of Stillness, Sahariel.

The saints represent the 5 pillars of Ecclesian society. Purity, Temperance, Dragonslaying, Peace and Order.To the citizens of Ecclesia, each one of the Saints is like that of a mountain. Unshakeable in their faith, unwavering in their resolve. The Saint's sacred duty has been invoked in these trying times. They will save Ecclessia and all of humanity, no matter the cost.

And with the introduction out of the way here is the WIP for the final Saint.

Yes I have been! Awesome, I'm glad my new poses are getting better :biggrin: I will definitely be coloring them, or at least trying too.

Here we go, the last of the Saints is finally complete and I got around to finishing Belia's sword. With that, the main cast is complete. I will upload a picture of all of them together then move on to finishing the illustrations and NPC/Enemy designs.

Spoiler

(http://i.imgur.com/PCwxzjc.jpg)Hangaku's outfit and design were inspired by Buddhist Nio, and Japanese Oni. The characters on her outfit mean "Traitor" and "Demon". Yes, she's blasé enough to walk around with a giant sign that says "I AM GOING TO BETRAY YOU" because she knows no one can read it. The real question is, will she or won't she? Hangaku was designed around the word "Chaos". The Nio and Oni fusion was meant to convey the paradoxical nature of her character. She is the saint of Peace, but is also the patron of war.Despite being a Saint, she moonlights as a shopkeeper (in disguise) that sells powerful artifacts to the main party after a certain point in the game. Her boss fight changes depending on how much money you spend at her shop. The more money you spend, the more swords she will show up with.

So some of my friends asked me how Eliza would fight given she's constantly in chains. I decided to sketch some samples of how I imagined she would fight and figured I should share them here as well.

-warning some blood/violence-

Spoiler

(http://i.imgur.com/nncC6x9.jpg)

In essence, she would fight with anything she can get her hands on. And if there isn't anything, she will fight with just her hands. I wanted to contrast the savagery of her rage with the image of a holy knight. I was inspired by how barbaric the Crusaders were during the 2nd Crusade. My plans for her combat sprite have her actually standing on all fours kind of like the Ring girl.

@MahluaI feel ya. Every step of the way I have to keep reminding myself that I can't let this project slip away like EVERY other project I've started work on. I'm pretty determined to see this through but maybe not at the level where I could defy bondage chains and stab people...

@BrandenHonestly, I think it was the blood that really did the trick. I've gotta work on expression with both the body and the face, Gabryel pointed out in some earlier work that I've done that I sometimes miss the nuance of expression because I either get the face right or the body right but both have to be work in tandem. Without the blood, I feel like the character would look kind of silly ._. Thanks for the compliment regardless though! I'll keep at it!

Small update this time, working towards dumping a bunch of completed stuff soon. Nothing much else to say other than HI!

Wanted to do draw Belai's armor from the back so I could get a better feel for how it looked. Decided to turn it into a stare down between 2 of the stronger Saints. Their sparring sessions get rather intense...

Spoiler

(http://i.imgur.com/WZM8OIz.jpg)

A quick update for the next piece I will be working on. This will be like the full environment picture I did of the main characters at the bar listening to music. This time however, it features the Saints jamming to their tunes. Belia, the leader will be seated at a throne while the other 3 Saints stand next to her atop a snowy mountain. I'm aiming to have it contrast with the relaxed feeling of the other picture with a more intense picture, showcasing the differences between the main cast and the antagonists. Here's a small sample sketch of the kind of expression I am aiming for.

@Walter Thanks! I'm still experimenting with action scenes so it's good to hear that it looks alright for a sketch haha!

Whew, haven't updated in a while... Life has had me quite distracted once again.Just a quick one this time though! A WIP of a character for a short story.

Spoiler

(http://i.imgur.com/169w5jR.jpg)

Been playing around with the idea of a short story I've had for a while about near future tech and spooky *censored* in machines. You can check out the story, titled CORAL in the develop your story section! This is a design I've made for the main character Niyon (pronounced Neon). She's part of a hacker group called EXE.Cutive, her real name is Melissa Lang.

I designed the color scheme and outfit around neon pop aesthetics. Was listening to a lot of EDM, Synthwave and retrowave while designing her and had a lot of fun trying something a bit more sci-fi this time around! I went really ham with the number of colors lmao...

Up next will be the other members of Exe.cutive: The Jeweler, Gl1tchiban (Niyon's robot dog), and Nissa, Niyon's mom.

I'll also be trying my hand at some neon punk inspired security officers using some of the tricks from Branden's thread about firearms. Will be designing C-Sec (City Security) officers as well in the next update!

Thanks all of you!I'm glad the character design looks good! It was a project born of copious amounts of EDM and some recent cyberpunk movies I rewatched. I also discovered neon punk for the first time (is that even a thing?) and I love the aesthetic of it. That 80's scifi retrowave/synthwave look and feel is awesome! I was very heavily inspired to take on this project thanks to this trailer for a game at e3.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pupdeq1MoVw

@TheSlamJam

Thanks so much man! Glad to be working with you on Discord! Let's keep on keepin on :thumbsup:

Neon punk? Well, if it is a thing, I think MSI's Jimmy Urine is the foreman. (https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/b/bd/Jimmy_Urine_Farmingdale_03.JPG/250px-Jimmy_Urine_Farmingdale_03.JPG)

I'm so sorry it's taking me so long to say anything, I'm kinda tired out atm from kids and family stuff. But I do stalk some threads from time to time :D

Your cyber punk girl is absolutely gorgeous, and your feet proportions are getting better and better with every figure I see :D Also love seeing something in colour again, and I adore your outfit designs. I'm kinda boring with those, I should really work on that. Do you use references for them, or does it just come to you? You mentioned working with associations coming with words; I still have trouble with that and keep slipping back into my classic outfit themes ...

And I wouldn't be me if I didn't have something to nag, right? Well it's not directly nagging this time, a friend of mine who is also an artist told me she has troubles getting the neck region right. So I showed her how I go about it and think it might be of help for you too, especially if you draw closeups or portraits.

See, when I draw a head, I think I have posted it somewhere, I use a more blocky head"mesh" to help me orient in the 3dimensional environment. On the scull, you have the point where the jaw meets the upper skull - that's where you would put the lowest point of the ear , and more importantly, it's where the "neck twister" (I don't know if there is a correct english word for it, it's a direct translation from the german word for the sternocleidomastoid muscle) starts. That muscle is the one that is typically depictured as the lines on the, er, throat? neck? you know what I mean, the v-line. This muscle connects the upper skull with the clavicle just underneith the gorge. So when I draw the head, I proceed drawing that V under the head, fixing the starting point of the clavicles. Now the clavicles are fixed to the ribcage just in the middle, and by moving them on the outside, you get a very good ida of how the shoulders will move if you raise your arm for example; because if you raise your arm, you will always raise your shoulder too, that's what makes the movement more natural.

The muscle that moves the clavicle / shoulder the most is the trapezuis muscle, a triangle shaped muscle in the neck. Viewed form the front, it looks like this, and that is my quick and dirty head-neck-shoulder-set up. It gives you enough orientation to know where to put the v-like on the neck later, and also provides a base for the more or less muscular looks of that region.

Don't worry about it at all Gabe! Take your time, I'm no rush these days and I don't want you to feel like you are obligated to help me or anything. It's enough to see you come back from time to time onto the forum since you've already helped me so much! :thumbsup:

And here we go again! Gahhh once again, thank you so much for taking the time to share this. I have had trouble figuring out the right place to connect the neck to the head before and this information is very useful for me. I now have an entire folder dedicated to line overs and advice you've given me!

I did progress somewhat on this sketch but I haven't done too much that changes can't be applied so I'll take this opportunity to drop some of the stuff I forgot to last time.

Spoiler

(http://i.imgur.com/TFVsfNc.jpg)

Some additional design works on Niyon, more to come as I start working on the gangs and the other 3 characters!

All things considered, it looks like you're coming along quite well. Interesting advice once again from Gabe. I'm really interested in seeing these larger pieces come together. I could probably learn a thing or two if I kept practicing at the rate you're going, haha. I hope one day I'll have a dedication like yours for doing the things I love.

Thanks! It's a really breakneck pace I'm keeping but I also just recently had my breakthrough so I want to ride this momentum for every last second I can.

@ShaneYeah dude, I still don't feel like I even got it right ._.

Droppin just a single sketch this time, friend of mine criticized Belia's design as lacking personality so I figured I would add a few subtle changes to her design to give her more oomf.

Overall design is still similar, still a built lady in armor. I ended up giving her a bunch of scars to sort of show her history as Ecclesia's best dragon slayer. Since these scars won't be visible in her armor, I decided to draw her in a situation where she just made her latest kill and is carving it up (easier without the armor on). Another note I added was how similar Belia was becoming to the beasts she was killing and I tried to reflect some of that in her eyes.

Thanks Lego! I'm trying to focus a lot on visual characterization, show more of a character's history through their appearance and actions kind of thing.

@Mahlua :D

WIP of the cover page for CORAL!

Spoiler

(http://i.imgur.com/H6u60AQ.jpg)

Still missing 1 character... Niyon's dog Gl1tchiban. On her right is her Oracle/Eyes in the sky, Karasu (real name Kitamura Yusuke). On her left is Niyon's mom, Gleam (real name Angela Lang). And of course, Niyon herself (real name Melissa Lang). Will update again once I finish more!

So I'm working on practicing drawing people sprinting and moving fast in general to prep for my comic. I did all of these without a reference to test my anatomy and body structure... It's not great :(

Well here's my attempt. It is read from right to left, that was more an accident than anything else. I wanna see if these poses communicate ok, if people can "kind" of tell what's going on then I think I did OK, if not then it's back to the drawing board!

Spoiler

(http://i.imgur.com/wviVcXY.jpg)

-made a small correction

I wanna work on getting more tension into the muscles, defining leg muscles more (since I do them for arms and abs so much) and using smearing techniques instead of just speed lines to imply speed. I definitely need to look at some references next time...

And now for something a little bit more fun. Here's a WIP I've been chipping away at whenever I feel like doodling. These are female characters from some of the people from the unofficial Discord group. Bad ass girls from bad ass stories, so I drew them doing gang hand signs 8)

Spoiler

(http://i.imgur.com/P3on7vd.jpg)

From left to right:Slamjam's Rox, S8N's Anya, Shishi's (nameless character so far), and the WIP is Bobby's character Paris.Join the Discord group if you want to join in on our drawing sessions!

-update-Now no longer a WIP! You can find the version I'm sticking with in the Workshop art thread! I will leave a post here as well. As an added sell out maneuver, I'm gonna schill the workshop here as well. For anyone interested in drawing and improving our art together, please consider joining our Manga Raider's artist's workshop!

Hey there, nice job on the movement studies! Especially the dash looks very dynamic, way to go!

I overlooked the sitting figure on that pic a while back, where you said you were unsure if you got it right. Maybe this will help figuring it out. In general, try to move the shoulder region more. The clavicle is not fixed to the ribcage and moves quite alot, and getting that right will give you a lot of expression in bodylanguage because you see if there is put weight on it for example. Pulling the shoulders up would express fear or insecurity, letting them fall looks lke someone is giving up etc. The legs on this sitting pose is definately difficult. I tried drawing the middle line of the leg in front as orientation help, on the one in the back I'm insecure myself XD doodled until it kinda looked right but I think that could use some improvement.

I'm a bit sad I can't be that active in the discord group of yours, I'll try popping in when I have the time and energy :D But great job on motivating ppl to draw! I'm a bit too busy with the kids to participate ^^° I can hardly finish one piece in two weeks ...

Thank you so much once again Gabyrel! I was definitely having a lot of trouble with the posture of that seated position ._. and yes, now that I take a look at my attempts at expression and animation it seems like the way I draw shoulders are too stiff. They definitely move a lot in expressive body language!

So a small but very different update incoming, I'm really getting into the idea of animating stuff so I'm starting off with mouth movements. Alas, I couldn't think of a good way to present it so I will just have to leave a vimeo link here. 2B is my chosen subject for this from Nier Automata because I was doodling her for fun tonight. :dance:

https://vimeo.com/232012588

Tried to make convincing mouth movements and avoid the usual mouth flap thing a lot anime tends to do. There were about 15 frames of unique mouth movements made for this tidbit. I should've animated more such as hair movements and head movements but for now I just wanted to try something simple. Definitely gonna be looking into this more, I might start trying to learn how to make animatics and mucking around more with After Effects! This little experiment took about 1 hour to do.

This is probably my first earnest attempt at animating anything 2D and even though it's half baked and more or less just an experiment, I quite like it!

For a first run, it looks pretty good for an experimental animation. It might have looked better if the head had stayed in position instead of twitching around all over the place. That's my only complaint, really.

You know, I keep nagging and correcting you, but with one thing you keep amazing me and that is how you keep engaging new challenges. I love the expressions, as rough as it is, it's more than a good start. You're gonna get somewhere, I 'm sure of it.

@MahluaThe bouncy head was because I didn't actually use a sprite sheet to make this, it was all on one canvas. This whole thing kind of happened on a whim haha.

@GabyrelI'm getting better BECAUSE of your nagging and correcting! You're like my art mom :thumbsup:And thank you! I'm just constantly grateful I always have more and more to learn because it always feels like I can improve when I take on new challenges, even if I fail or stumble.

Sweet segue into my next point. This is my submission for the illustration 2 of our first topic for the art marathon. I made one hell of a discovery during this. Because my first illustration was super draining I decided to something easy and straightforward for my second illustration. I stumbled upon some functions on Clip Art for coloring and shading that have completely changed my world. I think I've finally learned... color!?

I'm still very new to this and there are plenty of mistakes in this picture, but it's miles better than the flat shading/coloring I was doing before (and it leaves things for people to critique too muhahaha). I am so excited to experiment more with these new found discoveries in Clip Art Studios. Like I can't wait to go back and color my old pieces and start new ones. This has completely changed how I feel about shading and coloring!

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(http://i.imgur.com/ZbJVjjw.jpg)

I am super proud of that tree. That was some Bob Ross technology I employed with the water colors. I'm gonna call it the Happy Little Trees technique, I ran with Ross' movements and this is probably the first and most convincing tree I have EVER drawn.

So it's been a while, been practicing with the art workshop. We've decided to put that to a halt for now, due to horrendous timing (we started just as school was starting for most people).

Anyway, applying new found skills to my old artwork! Here is a redone version of Laguna, stronger concept and better execution this time I think!

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(https://i.imgur.com/oKWodVi.jpg)

Her theme is no longer "swamp" witch, I redesigned her this time around the theme of rebellion. Witches were outcasts of society and I thought her design should reflect that. Her new outfit is the same outfit as the Mages academy in my story but she's gone and torn it up/defaced it.

Experimenting more with color, still haven't quite figured it out yet but I think I'm getting closer

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(https://i.imgur.com/y2x46C0.jpg)

Made their poses a bit too similar by accident...

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(https://i.imgur.com/d8ovrFo.jpg)

WIP for a conceptual RPG character class, male/female versions. I call them the Empress/Emperor.

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(https://i.imgur.com/BBiJBaE.jpg)

WIP for a conceptual RPG character class, only female so far haven't planned out the male version yet. Most significant thing about this one is I've finally tried to draw an animal. I'm not sure if the proportions or anatomy of the wolf is at all correct but this was actually a lot of fun to do!

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(https://i.imgur.com/XWUyWnT.jpg)

Gonna be slowly chipping away at these and getting them colored over the next few days!

Been away for a weeks but back from the dead now up until EO5 gets released! Here's a tiny teaser for my current project, and the exciting thing is... this time it's actually happening!

teaser image

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(https://i.imgur.com/vMjWUI4.jpg)

some design sketches for the main character

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(https://i.imgur.com/ToYQHvK.jpg)

Expect some exciting stuff soon!

Now on to some of the nitty gritty. Over the next few weeks I'll be looking for an assistant illustrator/animator, editor and some interested in doing some SEO for me. If anyone is interested, please feel free to PM me for details. It will be paid work!

Got some help and decided I needed a bit more practice before moving forward. Despite that though, still chipping away at content. Here are some sketches i was practicing:

omg devola can draw things besides anime!?

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(https://i.imgur.com/BRTlXLd.jpg)

a sketch of Chester Bennington

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(https://i.imgur.com/1a2nMXW.jpg)

Related to the previous sketches, I was working on refining the design of my main character and I figured I should draw her in a sexier way. I kind of felt like I was making her really unsexy... this was my attempt to change that a bit. I'm thinking I'm gonna do something like this for all my characters in my upcoming project.

[WARNING THIS MAY BE CONSIDERED ECCHI, IF THIS GOES TOO FAR AND BREAKS FORUM RULES PLEASE LET ME KNOW, IT SHOULD BE SFW]

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(https://i.imgur.com/S4hATJl.jpg)

I took this as an opportunity to expand my horizons, the NSFW version can be found on Ecchi world! That's all for now, will update again soon.

Tiny update this time, something a bit more personal for a change, feel free to skip this if you aren't in the mood for something a little heavier than usual!

When Chester Bennington passed away a few months ago, it wasn't the first time someone I looked up to took their own life. At the time I was so wrapped up in stuff I was doing, I didn't really have a moment to let what had happened sink in. After watching the Carpool Karoake video released a couple hours ago where Chester, James and Mike drive around with Ken Jeong, it really began to hit me that an important part of my life left was gone. I wanted to take this moment to do a small tribute to Linkin Park and to Chester, for helping me through the roughest times of my life and staying with me long after I had thought I moved on from their music.

The reality is, I never stopped listening to Linkin Park and remembering all the times I had seen them live in concert really moved me to do something. It started with a sketch last night but I wanted to do something a little more personal to me.

So here is a quick little sketch of one of my OC's (really in this case, she IS me) and Chester scringing to some of the sickest music to have ever graced my life. Thanks for taking the time to read and check this out!

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(https://i.imgur.com/jlnBfjr.jpg)

With that said, look forward to the next update! I've got some more fun stuff coming~

and staying with me long after I had thought I moved on from their music.

Word. Chester's death hit me in a weird way also that no other celebrity death ever has, this time it wasn't some old icon from my parent's generation, it was someone from my own whom I had listened to in that pre-teen era. Really nice sketch here, a rad tribute to! I really like the idea of this one, and it looks cool, good lines and action! Great stuff.

Thanks guys, it was an emotional piece for me to do but it was a lot of fun as well.

@ManimalI know what you mean man, hearing about all these celebrities passing away over the years has me almost a little desensitized to it all. I mean I knew a good chunk of them as well but it was nothing like what happened with Chester, seeing as I actually had the opportunity to meet him at least once. It made everything feel just a little bit more personal.

On a happier side note, it did get me kind of thinking about doing some drawings related to music. I've begun to explore that area a bit as I keep expanding my horizons and I can't wait to plan a more complete piece for a tribute to Linkin Park.

Before I sign off, just a quick little update:

As a part of my own personal art training (and absolutely no other reason ;)) a lot of my more recent work has taken a turn for the "lewd", enough to the point where I think I would definitely be violating some forum rules posting them here. So for anyone interested in continuing to follow my work, please remember a lot of it going from this point forward will have nudity and sexual themes. You can find some of it on Ecchi world and I'll be throwing up a deviantart or something to host it soon!

For anyone curious as to why I made this (possibly) temporary change, it was mostly due to anatomy studies. I got kind of tired of sketching realistic models in relatively mundane poses so in order to test my understanding of bodies I took this challenge on. As food for thought, I think that as long as you are old enough this kind of a challenge can really test you and help improve areas where you are weak or lack understanding (trust me, if anything looks off the picture becomes profoundly unsexy).

That aside I have not abandoned my own projects and will continue to post more work here as I get around to them.

On a happier side note, it did get me kind of thinking about doing some drawings related to music. I've begun to explore that area a bit as I keep expanding my horizons and I can't wait to plan a more complete piece for a tribute to Linkin Park.

I got the same idea. One of my ideas is to mix images with parts of music lyrics. Check these, those are from eminem's songs:

For anyone curious as to why I made this (possibly) temporary change, it was mostly due to anatomy studies. I got kind of tired of sketching realistic models in relatively mundane poses so in order to test my understanding of bodies I took this challenge on. As food for thought, I think that as long as you are old enough this kind of a challenge can really test you and help improve areas where you are weak or lack understanding (trust me, if anything looks off the picture becomes profoundly unsexy).

Thats understandable, my work often leans that way when i am just doodling (my mum keeps asking me why my characters dont have any clothes on, and I'm like "I havnt finished yet muuuuum!"). But i'm not too keen on the ecchi style so i try to make my final works more modest than when i sketched them :P

I'm sure you will improve if you continue to focus on areas that you are weaker in. I found gymnastic poses to be a good source of non-normal poses to get an understanding of the body's flexibility limits.

Ahh I know what you mean. I get asked that all the time too, "why are they naked!?". It gets tiring having to explain it over and over again to people sometimes.

So I don't normally dump my doodles/sketches because generally I think they are awful and not really worth uploading but lately I've been experimenting quite a bit and I figured it would be fun for everyone to see my process/progress and check out some of my failures. I also needed a reason to update with some stuff as I haven't been active due to just diving into the deep end with drawing.

So without further ado, here is a sketch/doodle dump as well as a sneak pic at some of the WIPs I'm trying to finish! Please, enjoy!

Experimenting more with deep blacks and trying to draw a non human

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(https://i.imgur.com/jYu032D.jpg)

This WAS going to be a halloween themed picture I drew of a vampire countess riding atop a horse with a ghostly lantern but the execution just wasn't there at the time, I might revisit this one at a later date

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(https://i.imgur.com/a5RK15E.jpg)

A girl and her guitar, I'm growing really fond of sketching this way

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(https://i.imgur.com/NdnJaaS.jpg)

Another attempt at a non human

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(https://i.imgur.com/OzeHZvI.jpg)

So this is really the only sketch of the NSFW works I've been uploading to ecchi world that I can show here, there's a lot more going on and I can't wait to get this one finished! The finished version will be uploaded to Ecchi World

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(https://i.imgur.com/UQe9icR.jpg)

Hugs!

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(https://i.imgur.com/w6WKR2q.jpg)

Incoming!

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(https://i.imgur.com/r7V7ZQr.jpg)

Dudes!

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(https://i.imgur.com/0rOIHfr.jpg)

Rapid fire doodles, I've been doing a lot of realism sketches lately and I forget that I should continue exploring the way I stylize things. I'm digging that pose on Chun Li though so I might actually turn that into some fan art. There's also a weird looking Mario, a Mordred and a Sol Badguy

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(https://i.imgur.com/62Bgojq.jpg)

Now for the 2 WIPs I have going at the moment that are SFW:

A Bloodborne-esque picture that will be my Halloween piece of choice!

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(https://i.imgur.com/r93eqRJ.jpg)

A current WIP sketch of Deneb (the name of the pub in my story) and the main characters of my new series CASTLE that I've been working on. This will be a fully colored illustration once I finish it!

For some reason, Halloween has me getting back into metal again... It looks like my EDM binge is passing over now, and boy did I miss the energy of metal music.

So here's ANOTHER WIP to celebrate my new metal phase! Thankfully this sort of thing is easy to make canon in my story, so please enjoy and look forward to the finished piece! If I ever get around to it that is...

"why are they naked?"i almost stopped sketching in public or in my lunch breaks for that reason. i ended up just drawing props rather than people lol

nice stuff. i really like seeing WIPs and sketches. good work with the non-humans. its harder to figure out how to draw stuff like that since they dont exists in real life as-is. you sort of have to copy and paste from different animals to get it right. looking good though.

good use of abundant styles, it keeps your work looking fresh and stops you falling into a rut. looking forward to seeing some finished work soon :P

Jokes aside, welcome back dude! Glad to see you're still around!Right on time too! I finally finished something for once. Well, I'm not 100% happy with it but I'll settle for 90%, I've spent too much time as is on this piece.

Decided to try my hand at backgrounds and some fanart. Pretty proud of what I churned out but I can definitely make a lot of improvements. Either way it's good to get something done and this gives me a starting place to improve further.

(https://i.imgur.com/pE4rzlK.jpg)

I knew I wanted to do some Fate fanart but I wasn't sure what to draw at the time. Eventually I figured it'd be fun to depict Saber and Mordred in a "healthier" relationship and what better way than music right? *sigh* These 2 would have the CUTEST platonic relationship in the world if they didn't despise each other. Oh well, too little too late for them in the anime but that doesn't mean they can't secretly want to make up in my head canon!

So before I started working on my next colored piece I wanted to sketch out a quick character design. I was sort of winging it with this sketch but I really like how it turned out, might turn it into an actual character design!

Thanks! Glad you like it! Yeah I got the same critique from a friend on Discord. I tend to make legs on a lot of my characters too long, I guess it's just how I sketch stuff.

Small update! I liked the sketch I did so much I did some more "designing" to try and flesh out my process. Conceptualized a mecha/armored monk type character. I had a lot of notes on the process and concept but basically this is how I design stuff.

Started with this:

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(https://i.imgur.com/kKSR3rl.jpg)

Ended up with this:

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(https://i.imgur.com/7bkuYul.jpg)

And a little bonus! Applying the same design aesthetic to slightly different bodies.

Weird accidental theme happened while I was doing these pictures, bitter rivals that reconciled ended up just happening. I guess I like these kinds of characters! Anyway, here's a picture of Ryuko and Satsuki from KLK, made it a summer season one since the last one I did was a wintery one!

Lots of big stuff coming up soon! I've got ~ 3 full scenes I'm working on as well as 2 full character reference sheets, planning on taking up commissions soon once I've refined my skills more. I think I still need a lot of practice before I'm ready to do paid work but at least I'm making progress!

In the mean time, have some WIPs pinups I've been chipping away at. I'm thinking of using these (once they are finished) as sample pieces for commissions.

This one is of a random OC I designed, its going to include a fully detailed background:

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(https://i.imgur.com/VB6gvse.jpg)

Things get a little lewd from here, let me know if this is too ecchi for the website and I'll remove these. I have censored things where necessary. I'll be posting uncensored versions on ecchiworld for the time being until I get my own art profile setup!

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(https://i.imgur.com/6gXrSYJ.jpg)

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(https://i.imgur.com/3Hfmxwi.jpg)

Too many grills so I drew Akuma, Street Fighter 5 version:

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(https://i.imgur.com/wjsUrYe.jpg)

And a small sketch dump, I've been keeping more of these lately since I'm finding them to be a good way to just start a finished picture without having to think too hard about it:

Thanks, Eukocar! I appreciate it! I still have a long way to go, but I do feel like I`m making gradual improvements here and there. You can definitely reach this level too, I found that going back to basics and just getting through the fundamentals again and again helped a lot.

I have decided that I am going to be doing a bunch of pinups of random characters to add to my art portfolio as I get ready to take commissions. The theme of these works will be the Monogatari girls!

Since I already did a few, I am going to improve them over the next few days. Here is a WIP of Kanbaru! Current background is just a placeholder.

(WARNING: somewhat ecchi, I have censored the naughty bits)

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(https://i.imgur.com/JU5fY90.jpg)

(made a small edit, I made her eyes too big and she was looking a bit bug eyed, fix now while I work on the background today)

Her name is Charlotte Merryweather, she's a pirate witch on a journey to discover who she is. After her mother, the supreme evil witch of the swamp was executed for her crimes, Charlotte is given the last possessions of her mother. She receives a magical hat, and a compass that points only towards her father, an infamous pirate and the only one with answers about her heritage.

Along her journey she is tricked into joining a band of pirates who were only interested in exploiting her powers. Duped into thinking these pirates are a part of her father's group, she ends up traveling with these tricksters but as time passes, both the pirates and Charlotte learn that family is sometimes more than just blood.

This piece is still technically WIP, I actually have a more complex background set that I just haven't gotten around to drawing yet.

I'm also working on a complete character reference sheet for this character at this moment, I'm gonna use this as the standard of quality for commissions I take for character portraits. Time to go back and see how applying this technique will look on some of my older works!

Ah sorry, I probably shouldn't call it a technique. It isn't any kind of like formal art thing just a happy accident I stumbled on. It's rather subtle so I'll try to show it a bit more in my next piece but I can give a quick explanation of what I did right now.

TL;DR at the bottom

Basically, I was using pure blacks on the pen tool previously to do my line art which is perfectly normal for a lot of artwork in this field. The problem I had was I simply wasn't doing my line work clean enough and I wasn't using a good enough variety in line weight to make my pieces look a bit more natural. The pure black itself wasn't helping much either, it works fine for grey scale pictures but on illustrations with soft curves and edges it actually makes it all look rather unnatural. To top it off, you have to be very precise, like near pixel perfect or you'll start getting warbly lines when you start inking.

My solution was to try a different tool, and what I decided to use instead was to use water colors/oil paints for the line art. That why when I render the actual line art I can blend it a bit more with the natural tones on whatever I'm coloring. This is closer to how things look in real life I think, it lets me shade the actual line art itself as well which helps it blend and makes the subject look more a part of the space than detached from it (you can see the opposite happening in the picture of Kanbaru that I did, she pops out TOO much compared to the scene).

It's a rather subtle change and I didn't nail it 100% in the picture I did, but I'm gonna try and refine this more as I figure out more how to properly apply this but the short of it is essentially:

Try using paint brushes and blending your line art more when you move into the inking phase if you want a softer image rather than using pure blacks on the pen tool. Vary your line weight a bit as well.

The inspiration for this one was: Shinto + necromancy and a little bit of dark industrial somehow made it's way into this one. I wanted to do something different in feeling from the last picture I did so I went for something a bit darker. Really had to be conscious not to overload the design this time around, itako/miko outfits can have some crazy detailed designs on them.

Thanks! It's unlikely I'll ever finish this, just not really "feeling" the design if that makes any sense, at least not feeling it the same way I did with the pirate witch design. I'll probably redo the entire concept to fit with a stronger theme then work from there. And yeah, I just recently discovered how to make things glow and I've been having fun using it everywhere I can haha

@Forlorn SerpentI almost forgot to mention, yeah she's one of my OC's. It's kind of a funny story actually. I only mentioned this character while I was using her to explain how the hero's journey template for story writing works to a friend. At the time I made up a throwaway story to show examples of how to twist the hero's journey into something unique but after I went back to that sample story I wrote I actually think I came up with a novel idea and I kind of ran with that as the theme for the character.

In the meantime, have some concept art! I wrote the story originally with a 3 act structure in mind, following 3 arcs of the character's life. So here's some artwork showing what she might look like at different points in her story!

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(https://i.imgur.com/CpQClAr.jpg)

I'm really enjoying drawing this character, I think I might do some concept art for the entire pirate crew!

Very cool to see what you do, you have a very good motivation to keep things going, and you turn out cool works! Awesome sketches, the chibis look so good, and those poses are dynamic.

I feel for the latest one coloured above, same of those tones blend together a bit, like her arm and hair so it becomes a little odd when you aren't zoomed in. But the sketch is good, in fact you do the full body ones quite well! The pirate gal is cool. and damn...looking at Ecchiworld you can draw the lewd well also. I guess you can say there's no...beating 'round the bush. Shut up me. Haha, anyways very cool stuff indeed.

@ManimalThanks man, believe it or not lewds are probably 90% of the reason I improved over the past few weeks. Yep definitely drew them for practice. Mmmhmm. :unsure: As for the colors, yeah they definitely blend a bit, hopefully I'd have addressed that in some of the upcoming pictures I'm working on!

@LegoI really appreciate the kind words Lego, thanks! I have to admit I ended up not being TOO satisfied with the picture, but I'm really glad I attempted something like that anyway. I'll keep dropping uncensored stuff on Ecchiworld as I keep making them but honestly, I've learned so much from drawing lewds that I'm eager to put some of those skills to new (and SFW) projects so there might be a shortage of lewds for a while.

@SuupertrampYour sketch dumps were one of the things that got me motivated to start attempting more poses more often! :thumbsup:

As for what's next, some pretty major stuff actually. The pirate witch character has inspired an entire series of new characters but this time I'm putting in equal amounts of effort to their designs as I did with the witch character. I'm building kind of a mini narrative and story around these characters and it's making the design process really enjoyable! In the mean time here are some sneak peeks at WIP splash arts for the supporting cast!

Now for the question, how often do you guys go back to old work to redo it? I've gotta stop procrastinating and start uploading my work to my social media stuff but I also really want to go back and rework a lot of my old work. Part of the problem is though, I feel like I won't learn much by redoing old work. To me it feels like I get the most out of art when I'm starting new projects and trying new stuff but at the same time, it feels like a waste letting good ideas go.

It's fine to go back and redo old artwork because it puts into practice any improvements that you have made since then. As for how often you should do it, only if there is a very sizeable increase in skill or if you find fun to do. If you find it fun then that probably takes priority because it will keep you motivated to keep drawing more.

Also if you have ideas then do a very rough sketch and/or write them down, the key is to make it quick but get the main idea so you can return to the main drawing you are focusing on

Now for the question, how often do you guys go back to old work to redo it? I've gotta stop procrastinating and start uploading my work to my social media stuff but I also really want to go back and rework a lot of my old work. Part of the problem is though, I feel like I won't learn much by redoing old work. To me it feels like I get the most out of art when I'm starting new projects and trying new stuff but at the same time, it feels like a waste letting good ideas go.

Old work to me is old and dead work. Seiko Oomori says of her albums, when they are finished it's a burial. and all the work that went in is over, and something new starts from there. I think this applies to any creative work really. I try sometimes to redo some old comics or songs, but I find it pointless. With the initial spark gone it just feels like a lifeless copy of what the original was. Even if skills improve and something could be better, I find redoing things is just stepping back and it's not a good idea.

I've tried to make nicer versions of my old high school era comics but it never works. Out of the environment the comics where originally made in, it just doesn't work. Even if the original art can be improved it feels like stepping forward is the only way an artist should look. But it's hard when you have some of your best ideas early on, just without the skills you have in current time to make them better. I see some "redraw this" things on Deviantart where the artist has great new skills, but the original will often be in a totally different style and sometimes looks better in it's own right. It's easy to look back because the work is done, but to me it feels like a waste of time.

@ManimalYeah I think I agree with what you're saying. Sometimes though the trouble is I never know when a work is "finished" you know? Ah well, it's not a big deal but I think it's best to move on unless I have something genuinely new to contribute to old work and in that sense, it isn't really redoing old work anymore as it is making something new from something old.

@MKRecently I got advice from some friends to thumbnail poses/ideas and I've found that to be quite a handy thing to do with regards to putting ideas down for later! Even though I don't finish most of these, it's nice having a fleet of ideas that you could flesh out at any time.

Here's another dump of a bunch of half finished stuff! I've shifted my focus to work more on labbing out new techniques and practicing fundamentals again, been in a bit of a rut recently...

@LegoNone of those used any particular reference except the last one, I used a picture of a model as a reference for the back pose but not the frontal colored pose.

@Forlorn SerpentI'm not quite sure how it happened honestly. Generally though, the way I do it is I make a particular set of rules to follow when starting a face. First the face shape, then I place the nose as the anchor that helps guide the rest of the face's proportions. Next is the ear which helps me orient the angle of the face. Once I understand the angle, the rest is just knowing how to draw stuff and what they look like in that angle.

This definitely came with practice, I wasn't drawing faces this way prior to actually putting in a lot of practice on real human heads. You learn a lot of neat little tricks that help with consistency when you do this. Such as using ears to help guide where eyes go/orient the head and using the nose to help guide where the rest of the face goes.

As for the woman in the grey scale one, it's a dropped character concept I've been trying to suss out but have been having very little luck with. Her hand is a skeletal hand, I intended for her to be inspired by Shinto goddess Izanami no Mikoto so I wanted to include undead elements in the design. Originally I was gonna have a translucent skull appear beneath her face in certain areas but I have no idea how to do this so I copped out and made her hand a skeletal one haha

Small update for Christmas!

A character design/sketch I'm making for friends on Discord, this is the first one I've finished. But we're keeping it spoiler free till Christmas so have a silhouette for now!

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(https://i.imgur.com/2s6LJDA.jpg)

This one started off as a simple holiday picture but ended up being an experiment. I'm trying out a different method, basically forgoing lineart and painting everything using shading to create edges instead. Still a WIP atm and rather rough but I like where this heading!

Nice to see all your work consolidated here. You've been working your ass off, and the improvements are showing. Sorry the discord is a regular dumpsterfire, lol. I'll probably keep commenting there as you post your WIPs.

Thanks haha, don't worry about the Discord, stuff like that is bound to happen but I'm just glad ya'll are mature enough to sort it out in the end. And it's a relief that the improvement is showing, I have constantly ask myself that question and I find I can never 100% say I've felt like I've improved but it means a lot to hear that from someone else.

Today's studies: KICKS - the dragon kick image I did inspired me to do more of these

Spoiler

(https://i.imgur.com/1jpDNy6.jpg)

Tomorrow's studies will be: PUNCHESAnd here is WIP christmas gift sketch I'm working on for my SHISHOU, I hope she'll like it! It's of one of her OCs.

The tension in the neck on what would I guess be the second keyframe or panel or whatever does a really good job conveying just how much power is going into that punch. I think someone talked about that somewhere a while back, how the neck tension does a lot for action poses. I've been seeing that work well with the kicks, and that one portion of it on that frame there really sells it. Excellent mastery of subtlety, bruh.

Much appreciated fam, I got most of my tech for action poses from just observing how Yusuke Murata draws wind ups. And of course, fighting games. Speaking of which, these action studies were done with a bit of an impromptu purpose! Here's my attempt at making some sprites! They are just sketches for now and I have no idea if I'm ever gonna do anything with these but this was very fun for me to make and a good exploration into animation for me.

Heavy Punch attack(https://i.imgflip.com/2186sr.gif)

Medium Kick attack(https://i.imgflip.com/218aya.gif)(edited: sped up recovery so the jank is less visible)

Combo, Medium Kick to Heavy Punch(https://i.imgflip.com/218c21.gif)

These were all done without references except for the recovery frames of the kick attack where I used a Kickboxer's follow-through motion as the reference. I definitely could add more frames to the recovery of the kick attack but these take a loooong time to make and I'm tired now. I'm definitely gonna make more though!

@KillerBThis was all done digitally using Clip Studio. The punch has 11 unique frames and is around 20 total frames of animation, the kick has 15 unique frames and is around 18 total frames of animation. The combination is about 28 frames of animation.

I've finally gotten a commission! Though it's from a friend... Here it is anyway!

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(https://i.imgur.com/xbSezTz.png)

a WIP for my crucible submission character! This is the character design I was using for the animations, I hadn't actually planned out here actual design elements yet...

setting values

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(https://i.imgur.com/bOHbvbv.jpg)

close up of her face

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(https://i.imgur.com/QnGnJkI.png)

So far, I don't have many details yet. Only thing I've figured out is her name, which is Azuki Tenjo.

Oh man Devola those animations are freaking amazing! Love these fighting poses!! And you know what, if lewd art means good anatomy then I have the best excuse ever from now on. *Stars in eyes, blood on nose* Ecchiwarriors, Assemble!

Now that you mention the yandere, I see it too. I think it's from the blankness in the eyes. Other than that, though, if you mentally fill in for pupils, I think it looks pretty cute. I personally don't do cute very often though, so I wouldn't know for certain.

RIP yandere was not intended, I will get to fixing that... or maybe I shouldn't ;)

Sorry for the inactivity, ran into some tablet troubles and sometimes it's just hard to know what to draw... still here are some WIPs coming up!

Made this to practice perspective, I like it enough that I think I'm gonna flesh out this design. The blue thing is gonna be a holographic keyboard, wanted to draw a witch rockin out on an organ.

Spoiler

(https://i.imgur.com/dVxe0Vw.jpg)

Tried more perspective stuff, this time with a beautiful dude, though I low key think I draw these kinds of male characters too feminine sometimes. Also not happy with the way he's holding the broom so that's probably gonna change.

Spoiler

(https://i.imgur.com/ycIq4mZ.jpg)

WIP holiday gift for another Discord member, this is of their OC. Trying out more painting stuff, as well as drawing kids/cute since I'm pretty bad at this

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(https://i.imgur.com/9ltZnGS.jpg)

Some upcoming fanart. I absolutely love Mordred from Fate/Apocrypha, like not even as a waifu. I relate to her so much she feels more like my spirit animal than a waifu.

Well I've never explicitly tried doing yandere before... I might actually give that a shot. Who knows, maybe it'll turn out OK!

So here is my final doodle before I have to tune out for a few days because Christmas, and family and all that. Didn't have a whole lot of time to draw what I wanted to but I'll pick it up from here when I get back! Anyway, happy holidays folks!

Just titled this one DragonSlayer, started out as a genderbent version of Mordred but ended up looking too much like Siegfried so I just winged it about halfway down...

All that armor...it's looking really cool. That one Fate sketch is great also, like the hair is on point for both of them. Witch looking girl is great as well! Man, it's times like this I just need to bring up my older posts to speak, because your stuff continues to be so cool!

Thanks guys, once again I appreciate all the kindness. Merry belated Christmas to you too Walter!

Speaking of which, now that Christmas is over, the cold can bounce right off and make way for summer. I'm getting a little ahead of myself here but I'm stoked for the upcoming summer F/GO event where I will definitely be rolling for Rider Mordred!

So here's a fun little picture I attempted today, didn't quite get it exactly how I wanted but I'm happy none the less!(https://i.imgur.com/6qgZPNT.jpg)

After that grueling picture I spent all day on I decided to some comfort drawings! Made something similar a while ago, a concept RPG class. I like doing this kind of thing so I made another one!

Spoiler

(https://i.imgur.com/QQf1WwU.jpg)Class: Sable Assassin

Description: Men and Women of the cloth that have sacrificed their right to paradise. The Sable Hand Assassins stain their souls with sin so that other's will not have to do the same. Stealth specialist that excels at medium range combat. Uses throwing knives and minor miracles.

Weapons: Rosary and Short Swords. Carries up to 6 short swords at a time, can use them for close range combat or throw them for a ranged option. Rosary is a catalyst that allows Sable Assassins to cast minor miracles without praying but power is greatly reduced as a result.

Thanks! My local DnD group was planning on altering some rule sets for Shadowrun to see if we can work a campaign with these custom classes in, they liked me doing these so I'm probably gonna keep going!

Only have enough time to make a female version today, was really busy working on corrections to some older art! This one was also a bit more involved than the previous...

Spoiler

(https://i.imgur.com/afKiYPE.jpg)Class: Red Dragon Wakagashira

Description: Members of the Red Dragon Yakuza clan, these warriors have partaken in forsaken vices from the Inner World and have returned with a newfound mastery of their sinful magic. They hold positions of leadership within the Red Dragon clan. Versatile warriors who's greatest advantage is their wide range of combat options.

Weapons: Katana, close range slashing weapon. Pistol sidearm, various small firearms used for long range combat. Imbued tattoos, scars from their journey in the Inner World, can summon various creatures to aid them in combat or imbue weapons with elemental properties.

Starting spells: Wakagashira primarily have 4 tattoos that give them various abilities:

Snake tattoo - Can either imbue weapons with potent poison or strike at nearby opponents with venomous fangs

Dragon tattoo - Can either imbue weapons with fire or manifest a lesser dragon and scorch enemies in a cone with flames.

Oni tattoo - Can either empower self with great resilience (damage resistance) or manifest an Oni thrall to fight alongside

Kitsune tattoo - Can either empower weapons with lightning or manifest a swift companion that will restore stamina periodically

Slight change of plans, decided to paint this for the sake of completion! Here's the next step, it's still a WIP as I haven't inked the tattoos yet, its just an overlay of the sketch from my previous post. I'm quite happy with this so far!

Thanks Legoman, once again really appreciate the support. So kind of unintended but neat anyway, I actually did not want to create a Christmas color scheme lmao, not that it's a bad thing or anything.

Mucking around with colors a bit to try and get out of that red/white, I think this is too saturated and I'm losing detail so I'll be playing around with this a bit more before I Ink her.

Alternate color scheme:

Spoiler

(https://i.imgur.com/X4pr5AJ.jpg)

Next class! This time in fancy greyscale with a tiny splash of color, I feel like this is one of my more professional looking pieces:

Spoiler

(https://i.imgur.com/NzO2lRq.jpg)

Class: Code name [ Truth ]

Description: Hollow knights that faithfully serve the Church as watchdogs. These empty warriors are former sinners who visited the Inner World and have been captured and rehabilitated by the Church. They now serve as hounds that hunt for others that have touched the Inner World. "Truth" as they are known, are powerful close range fighters that have immense resistance against Inner Lore and creatures from the Inner World. They are dependent on their life partners known as Code name [Revelation] for guidance and survival.

Unique restrictions: This class has a unique restriction regarding its function. "Truth" are created by the Church and serve as thralls, however they are always paired with another class called "Revelation". These two classes MUST work in tandem, one cannot survive without the other and thus selecting this class also requires another to play the role of "Revelation".

Weapons: Plasma Greatsword, an immensely dangerous close range weapon that does 100% Energy damage, but no physical damage.

Can optionally wield a Plasma Shield for defense. Prevents Truth from 2handing their weapon, reducing damage.

Starting skills: At the Gate - Truth is permanently tethered to Revelation. If the tether is broken either through distance or Revelation's death, Truth will also instantly perish. The closer Truth and Revelation are, the stronger the tether is granting bonuses to stats.

It's called Throwing Fire, a short story about how 2 people find and connect with each other across the world through their music. The story focuses on their struggle to make their mark on the world despite having never met each other once in real life. I wanted to write about that "fire" that ignites between creative souls when they are willing to cross any distance, close any gap and conquer any foe to reach their goals!

Initial character design for the drummer girl in Throwing Fire! Her name is Jesse Taylor, 24 year old freelance model with a degree in English she never used. Her real passion is music, but living in NYC isn't cheap and just getting by after a day of hard work leaves her without motivation to continue chasing her passion.

Are u using a tablet and a stylus dude rlly cute characters there and looking good on shapes btw how did u start to draw example:i want to draw a girl how will i start?or were will i start?, u dude how do you start?

Are u using a tablet and a stylus dude rlly cute characters there and looking good on shapes btw how did u start to draw example:i want to draw a girl how will i start?or were will i start?, u dude how do you start?

He draws using broken glass on sand.

(I dont think any of these questions really matter tbh, he uses a tablet to draw and just does normal construction)

I can post my step by step for how I start a picture if you're curious but yeah I use broken glass a tablet to draw with. As for how I start, I just plop down the torso or head somewhere on the page and construct a figure from there. I'll generally have an idea of how what kind of pose I want to do before I start drawing though. After the construction of the pose, I'll fill in a rough sketch, followed by a cleaner sketch with some shading/tones/lighting then I'll move on to a finalized colored version if I decide to color it.

Here's a step by step sample on the latest piece I'm working on:(Just for clarity's sake, from left to right the characters are: Mordred, Okita + Nobunaga, Jeanne D'arc, Arjuna)

Step 1: Figure constructionI do this for every figure in the picture unless it's a pose I'm very familiar with (there is no construction for Nobunaga for that reason, the couch is also referenced from a picture)(https://i.imgur.com/uiRsF58.png)

Step 2: SketchThis is the rough sketch where I turn the figures into somewhat fleshed out characters. You'll find during this phase a lot of the figures have changed a bit from my construction, I usually get feedback at this point from others in the Discord.(https://i.imgur.com/uyf8AEh.png)

Step 3: Quick ShadingI do a very fast pass of shading over the picture to get a general idea where the lighting will be(https://i.imgur.com/kqvo2km.png)

Step 4: A lot of stuffFrom this point on, I clean up lines and finalize design elements, followed by toning and more processed shading. After this, I color and do another pass of much cleaner shading along with lighting.

Spoiler

(https://i.imgur.com/H8vWgbJ.jpg)

This image is still a work on progress though, it's my F/GO team that I'll be turning into a banner for my social media!

Hope this helps!

@fcollot & mahluaThanks guys, I'm glad you can relate with the character! I'll be doing a final pass at her later today and I'll keep your suggestions in mind Mahlua, thanks for the feedback.

:tongue: haha srry for asking problematic questions haha thats rlly cool doing it step by step like that even though i didnt get the answer what ive expecting btw looking forward to ur into fire meen,good work as always keeping your work single everyday btw have u studied about the muscles of the upper limb muscles i suggest you study some of it ;)

Oh it's not a problematic question, I guess I just didn't understand what you were asking. Do you mean how I start an image if I want to draw a cute girl character? If that's the case it usually starts with the pose, I'll either come up with one or find references for one. For the character's faces, I just use the old tricks of the trade. Small noses, large eyes, a little bit of blush and make up.

I guess that in general, it all comes from the idea. What kind of cuteness do I want to draw, what kind of emotions do I want to communicate? Are they a genki tom girl? Or are they shy and reserved? What kind of outfit would they wear? To be a bit more candid about it, what parts of this character can I fetishize in a small way? Is it their face, neck, arms, chest, abdomen etc etc... It all comes down to what YOU think is cute and how you want to represent it. As for studying upper limb muscles, I'll look into it.

Something a bit different this time, I've been doing a fanart piece that involves making my own OC Persona character. Heres a sketch of my Persona and some deets on the character

Thanks to both of you! Yeah the intention was to basically "Persona"-fy her, good that it came through. Yeah I was structuring it like how the party member's Persona's work in the series, a starting Persona that eventually turns into an ascended one when you max that S-link.

Not much to add today, did a quick pass sketch of Fortis' Crucible character here:

Dunno if I'm gonna stick with this because I basically turned her from a monster to a human and mixed and matched the Fate version of her armor with my own designs. Might go for something more inhuman.

I havent checked your work this days hha studying a book btw the skeleton guy is standing with morale and i just noticed that the girl faces ur making is looking the same with ur other sketch of girls hha i just noticed :tongue: good work meeeeeen

Ayy yeah sorry about that, I'll try to keep that in mind when I move on to the actual drawing phase! Just to clarify, by squishy violin you mean that it's too small and without enough detail currently to make it appear 3D/solid correct? I usually don't detail it during the sketch phase but I'll keep that in mind for next time!

Introducing Mysterious Heroine M! She's got daddy issues and a chip on her shoulder! Stole the most expensive bike in the garage and has since left on a journey to to prove to the Saber-verse that she is the one and only Saber.

Anyways. I like that you're experimenting with a lot of different genres in your art. You get more rounded at generating concepts like that. You're quite playful with desiging your characters, that's good too, makes 'em interesting.

Personally I think if you do more gesture drawing, 20 minutes of 1 minute or 2 minute poses a day you'll get good progress in a few months.

@ForlornHahaha I don't know why but this comment cracked me up, if she were in F/GO one of her skill should totally be called "I'm gonna die young" or something, lmao 10/10

@RenI took a look, her art is fantastic! I could only hope to be half as good as she is one day, but thanks for the comment I appreciate it. I've definitely been neglecting to do gesture practice recently having shifted my focus onto coloring but thanks for the reminder I'll definitely start that up once again soon.

@LegoThanks Lego! The TRUTH is i've been grinding away at cleaning up and doing a finalized version of that picture for a while now. The bike is most definitely murder, trying to get all the parts and everything painted is /tedious/

On to regular updates, sorry for the radio silence! Been swamped from all corners with a bunch of things, but it's good to keep busy. Street Fighter 5 AE just launched and I gotta shape up and make sure I'm tournament ready for EVO. Also the giant back catalog of GDQ games to catch up on for AGDQ this year... lots to do.

In the meantime, here are some things I've finally managed to at least get out of the sketch phase. While practicing with color has been really enlightening, I feel like I just don't grasp digital painting well enough yet so the focus going forward from here is to work on realistic painting. For the sake of completing stuff, I've gone back to the old way I've been coloring for these pictures:

This ones a character concept piece, it's for a short story inspired by The Cat Lady. (Haven't quite figured out a background yet, or if I'm even going to do one)

The story is called Black Cat, and it takes place a ways into the future in a mega city called Helios 1. An AI chat bot gains sentience from residual data left behind by human users on a forum and pieces together a personality from those chat logs. She escapes and is targeted by a corporation called Colossus intent on studying her. Because she can't be directly connected to the internet, she has to use a physical android body and external hard drives to store her memories since her body is unable to store so much data. She stores this data in the form of cats (all animals are robotic in this future, there are no more "living" animals). In the story, she opens up an investigation firm and becomes a private investigator intent on finding more AI that have gained sentience before Colossus does, and is dead set on rescuing them.

This second piece is something I've been wanting to do for a while now but just never got around to it, here's a (lazy) version of it!

Meet the Artist!(https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachments/357324044472811530/403784747421270016/unknown.png)

This is team Color Splat! It consists of myself (on the right) and my significant other (on the left). As you all know my name on the forum is Devola, but my "pen" name is ManaBurst.

But as normal cool stuff here. Bike girl looks especially amazing, that's a well drawn bike in just the right amount of detail also. The meet the artist thing is neat, dynamic! Duo dynamic! I know it's a common one, but I might steal that idea from you.

But as normal cool stuff here. Bike girl looks especially amazing, that's a well drawn bike in just the right amount of detail also. The meet the artist thing is neat, dynamic! Duo dynamic! I know it's a common one, but I might steal that idea from you.

SHARP OBSERVATION THERE BROTHER.I just end up using color because everything I type gets that annoying red line that keeps telling me colour and armour is wrong. It's gotten to the point now where I've just been using "color" over colour online. I'm a bad Canadian. feelsawfulman

As for the meet the artist thing I didn't quite do it right at least not the way I see other people do it. I got this idea from MusicFreak who did something like it a while back, I think she got the idea from someone else as well.

@EukocarDon't worry about it haha, gender doesn't really matter to me! And thanks for the kind words ;D

Fair enough. I'm pretty hardcore on that. I change song titles on my phone to match up. So it becomes Flow, Colours. 9nine, Colourful etc. It's always an active thought in my head whenever I type the word. Also yes, meet the artist is an old thing but seeing this made me want to do it also.

Not much this time, just a small sketch dump of a bunch of things I've been labbing out. Been in a bit of a rut lately but hopefully it'll blow over soon.

Tried to design edgy magical girls but ended up just making them edgy girls.

First sketch

Spoiler

(https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachments/357323320485609476/405683744276480010/unknown.png)Their names are: Rose Heart and Rumble Heart, there's going to be a third and fourth girl potentially but I still haven't figured them out yet. Also not quite settled on these designs either.

Thank you! I'm not liking the color palettes on the character, they're too similar to existing characters and Rose Heart's colors just don't mesh well. Back to the drawing board, though I did manage to sketch the third character, Rifle Heart!

Spoiler

(https://image.prntscr.com/image/Wqg1J_hrTuiXsaPuRl7WwA.png)

That completes the first Trio as a part of this design exercise. I'm thinking of naming this concept project either Angelic Brave or Heart Song, or something like that. I wanted to get away from the sci fi and medieval stuff I usually draw and try something a bit more campy but with my own personal spin on it. Completed versions coming soon!

I know the feeling of trying to break out of a niche. I guess that's why I'm simultaneously working on tarot of my (human) friends and also some anthro stuff, just to keep myself on my toes.

I still see some of those sci-fi/medieval elements going on in parts of these designs, but you're definitely starting to separate. What is your process for exploring that new territory? Because usually I'll look at a bunch of references of stuff more "different" than what I do and sketch some of the common trends or like, go along the first two rows of images on Google and sketch them to get the feeling of what makes them different.

Heyooo long time no post! Been busy with a lot of stuff between February and now, but I'm back after taking a long break from art. I've been drawing as much as I could when I had time but I hit a pretty hard plateau and was feeling pretty down about my art and what I was doing for a while (plus some other life problems). Finally sorted it all out, and after taking a long break from art I've caught some good momentum!

After a long period of just experimenting and practicing, here are some of my more recent works! There was a lot of stuff I produced but most of it was just shooting in the dark, these are the pieces I'm most proud of so far.

Some character designs for a fully coloured comic, the characters share a colour palette because they are sisters:

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(https://i.imgur.com/arvqRwo.jpg)(https://i.imgur.com/mMMxphG.jpg)

Some older WIPs I'm hoping to go back to and finish when I have the time:

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(https://i.imgur.com/Q1Veq1l.jpg)(https://i.imgur.com/d0EFKoH.jpg)

My most recent piece, a custom decal of Elphelt Valentine I'm going to be putting on my arcade stick for when I go to EVO this year!

Spoiler

(https://i.imgur.com/spYVF1N.jpg)

That's it for now, I'm hoping to get back into the swing of posting regularly when I can!

Man if someone like you can get down in their art then the road is truly endless.

These are awesome stuff though. Just love how you can really add character to your well characters and still keep up that crisp pro coloured look. Great stuff, and welcome back to the fray. Keep at it man!

This big picture is turning out to be a real pain in the ass but at least I'm almost done now. Took a quick break to redo one of my old OC's I made last year to gauge how my own taste and skill has changed.

Thanks guys!@FortisHaha yeah, now that I look at them it's definitely the coat with the furry trim that does it, I dunno why but while I would never wear one of those despite the fact that I really like the way they look.

@WalterWell specifically what I did during that time was a lot of experimentation. I think I had OK foundational skills a year ago, but I was playing it too safe following the typical rules for learning how to draw. I did do gesture drawings, studies of particular body parts/anatomy and stuff everyday but progress was slow and I wasn't really getting anywhere. I had to break out of my comfort zone and try things I wouldn't normally do.

The biggest changes happened when I decided to do 2 things. The first is going to sound a bit weird, but I decided on a whim I'd start drawing ecchi/hentai. It was a good way to force myself to learn how gestures work because If you're going to draw something sexy, the pose absolutely can't be "stiff". It also helped a lot with anatomy, you can't hide things underneath clothing anymore.

The second thing that helped was experimentation. I just started paying extra attention to things other artists do to make me go "hey that looks neat". For example, the dark high contrast shading you see in comic books was something I adopted. So whenever I see something that looks neat, I'll try to break it down and understand how it works and see if I can add it to my own work.

I wouldn't necessarily recommend the first strategy to everyone (especially if you aren't old enough) as I think that worked for me personally because of where I was with art at the time, but if you're in a rut and you want to see some improvement I would definitely give the second strategy a shot. Hope this helps!

Current WIP, nearly done but now I need to design a logo and stuff and it's hard, no idea where to even start:(https://i.imgur.com/hpnw9GL.jpg)

A quick sketch I'll be finishing of my Discord group's OCs as a Fantasy RPG adventuring party, hoping to add more soon!:

From left to right:Mahlua's character Ebony from her DnD campaignA character I just designed, she doesn't have a name yetSlamjam's character design for a collab project, also namelessChrono's OC from way back named Illya

It's done! OC's from all the Raiders in my Discord rendered, Devola style!The concept was an adventuring party but it somehow shifted to something that kind of reminds me of old promo material of RPGs back in the day.

Anyway, the name is completely random, just thought of something that sounded cool.

Unfortunately, this is probably as far as this goes, maybe we'll collab on an actual story for these characters. I would most certainly love to revisit drawing them again (but maybe not so soon, this one took a while haha)

Thanks Lego!I love DnD, especially because this guy I play with on occassion is really into it and makes a great DM. He goes out of his way to make it really fun and involved, makes maps and stuff. I've drawn people's DnD characters for them before too for their character sheets, its a lot of fun.

Most of the time we try to keep our sessions no longer than 1 month each, if we don't finish a campaign in that time we resolve to move on just to keep the stories fresh.

Tiny update, been working on commissions but also this personal piece.Tales of Berseria fan art! It's still a sketch so far but I'm planning on finishing this up like my previous one, with a background and in full colour. Eleanor is still missing, but I will be adding her soon!

Welp bit of bad news, I got distracted and drew something else. Good news is, I finished that something else and it was a welcome break from that big Tales of Berseria piece, so now I'm back on it at full speed.

There's more bad news, what I drew is strictly speaking not the most age appropriate piece I've drawn to be posted on this website. As a result, I've had to crop/hide a large portion of the drawing. Despite that, I have included the heavily censored snippet here to share. If you'd like to see the full, original and uncensored version, pay a visit to my Deviant Art!

If for whatever reason the subject matter is still too inappropriate, let me know and I'll have it removed!

(warning: minor blood)

Spoiler

A random OC I drafted in a night, I wrote a short back story for her as well to give her some flavor for my own enjoyment. I had fun drawing her and will likely do more serious non-lewd artwork for this character as a result. (https://i.imgur.com/Hodbdud.jpg)

Haha thanks guys, glad you like it! I'm having a lot of fun taking my art in this direction atm.

@fronomenalI wish I was professional, but I've still got a long way to go!

In between projects I like to add more to fantasy worlds and concepts that I've created, this vampire character is one of them! As a result, I've decided to go back and do something I did a while back on the forum that I had a lot of fun with. Designing characters just for the sake of designing them!

Here are some designs that will include back stories at a later date, but feel free to make your own head canons! I'm also including some teasers for 2 more characters who's sketches will be complete very soon.

Carmilla Rose, the debauched princess of Southark in her battle attire (this is the same character featured in my previous vampire illustrations).

And we'll find out soon! But before that, I got detoured by a commission from Fortis.

Here is his character Anaste, the Dark Angel of Galifor rendered and designed by yours truly.

Spoiler

(https://i.imgur.com/Lp019hl.jpg)

I will be accepting requests again after a short break, join our Discord or keep tabs here to see when!Now, I need to repay Lego with some MR fanart...

Wow, every time I wander into your thread I can see improvement. Great job on making the figure 3-Dimentional, but don't be afraid to push the darks on the light colored surfaces to give it an even greater pop. I do get a tad bit lost on her ankles/feet though. Either it's an anatomy issue or a perspective one but she appears to have two sets of ankles and her toe areas look concave.

Thanks for the feedback Robin! I definitely messed that spot up haha. I think if I were to fix, I would just adjust the shading so it doesn't look like two sets of ankles and pull up the foot a bit so it's not quite as long. As for the feet, I've always had issues with drawing them in that perspective, welp something to work on for next time I suppose!

@MahluaThanks, the wings were a real pain. I tried different ways of doing it and just ended up painting them instead. It's messy but at least I haven't gone insane yet!

Needed to warm up after taking a break from art for two days. Just a little something I quickly slapped together, I haven't cleaned up the shading or finished it up yet but other than that this was a good warm up! Now to get back to doing boring studies :thumbsdown:

This thing you "slapped together" looks better than me putting full effort into a piece wtf dude.I guess I gotta pick up the art tablet more often if I ever wanna compete in this market, but I'm so easily distracted by all my writing ideas...

jokes aside, i like the pose. i think the background is also quite cool for being simple, but perhaps the colours would look better reversed, because the dark of her legs is over the dark of the background and the hair and cloak sort of blend with the red sun.wondering for the pose, though, it seems a little back heavy, not too sure how to explain it, but it doesnt feel like shes gonna move forward, it feels like shes going backwards (to the right)

Oh geez taking some fire here. I legitimately tried to be fast with this picture, I wanted to get back in the saddle ASAP so I rushed it quite a bit. Normally pictures like that one take me at least 2 days to do (not total time but roughly around 10+ hours) but this time it took only about a day and roughly 6 hours. There is a lot I want to fix but I wanted to settle the picture and move on ASAP.

Anyway, on top of all the other stuff I'm working on I've started a big project to push myself as well! In the mean time here are some old doodles and sketches I never posted!

Random drawings, third one is from monster hunter!

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(https://i.imgur.com/KJqBqRX.jpg)

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(https://i.imgur.com/cewKUhD.jpg)

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(https://i.imgur.com/17KWzE6.jpg)

Morioka Moriko from Recovery of an MMO Junkie, sketched this while I was watching an episode! I absolutely love her, she's so adorable

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(https://i.imgur.com/6n0zcEv.jpg)

Teresa Wagner from Tada-kun Koi wo Shinai, a rom com that I gave a shot this season. I don't normally watch these types of shows but I've recently warmed up to them and enjoyed this one quite a bit!

Oh gawd giant swords make the world go round. Love the outfit too man. You really make some delicteable mellorines there devola. I need to channel this ability to draw such arts. You work from grayscale to colour right?

@SuuperI like both but for different reasons, the super long stuff is a real slog to get through but I feel a greater sense of satisfaction and accomplishment with those pieces.

I like the sketches too, since they feel low commitment and I don't stress as hard over them. Sometimes they turn out even better than the long stuff because of that.

As for which one I like better, I'm not sure, I think I'll stick with my original statement and just say that I like both equally but for different reasons!

@legoYes, grays first then color!

A quick update aside from the game stuff I've been working on, I've been trying to paint big pieces as well. Here is a WIP of something that I've let sit for a long time now due to working on other stuff but I'll eventually get around to finishing this one!

aaaand thats why we use reference :Palthough the first one was pretty good, better than my from-memory pieces :Pand as always I love the amount of form you can convey with a few brush strokes of shade and highlights! Do you paint light and dark on a different layer, or just paint both on top of each other until it looks right?

@suuperOh man, speaking of details. I keep THINKING I have the willpower those crazy good environment artists have when it comes to rendering fully detailed cityscapes but it just takes so long that I'm worried I'll lose interest in what I'm working on and never finish it. I've been trying to lab out a decent mid point for this, somewhere where I can still get those details without working as hard and so far, no dice.

My latest work that I posted on DeviantArt as a part of an ongoing art challenge between myself and a few friends, the theme was draw something about summer. So I drew my OC from my game project, Lydie enjoying some bubble tea! This is a good example of where I TRIED to do a cityscape but the tedium just broke me so I blurred everything and called it a day haha.

I've struggled with cityscapes, possibly for the same reason. I've always preferred quick sketches so a detailed city would take too long. but I'm starting to finally get the hang of longer drawings, so I might take a step into background at some point. Or just use sketchup to block it out lol. It's surprising, but I am actually very patient, but only when I think it is worth it, and my art hasn't been worth it yet haha

great themed piece. yeah I think the background could have had a little extra detail, even in the blur, as the blurry bit is quite indistinct I couldn't tell it was meant to be buildings I thought it was more like trees and stuff. maybe more vertical and horizontal lines will give it more of an artificial feel. You can always take the composite route and paste a photo of a city in and blur that, or use it as reference/trace it. I want to try that anyway for fun :P

I like the shading on the clothes and body, but in a few places it feels a bit patchy, or your style is just a bit looser for this piece. good perspective on seeing the bottom of the umbrella but the top of the railing :P I love the shorts because I can't draw shorts yet :)

the tedium just broke me so I blurred everything and called it a day haha.

That's gonna happen but as long as you keep pushing the boundary you'll get there!! Your work is always of a good quality, so if you've made it this far with characters, backgrounds will be a cinch :P

something that might help that I have just discovered being a noob artist myself, is to keep a bunch of WIPs and work on them when I feel like it, alongside my other stuff. So when tedium kicks in, stop and go onto something else. that way you are always giving stuff your best, and avoiding that tedium which can damage your work :P You might already do this tho :P

@suuperOh man, speaking of details. I keep THINKING I have the willpower those crazy good environment artists have when it comes to rendering fully detailed cityscapes but it just takes so long that I'm worried I'll lose interest in what I'm working on and never finish it. I've been trying to lab out a decent mid point for this, somewhere where I can still get those details without working as hard and so far, no dice.

My latest work that I posted on DeviantArt as a part of an ongoing art challenge between myself and a few friends, the theme was draw something about summer. So I drew my OC from my game project, Lydie enjoying some bubble tea! This is a good example of where I TRIED to do a cityscape but the tedium just broke me so I blurred everything and called it a day haha.

This next one is a WIP for a thing I was making for a friend's birthday, it isn't finished yet but I'll definitely be finishing it soon once I take care of other commissions! The background is still a placeholder at the moment.

wow!!! how you manage to design your characters this is insane!I really like the atypical female knight!! you made it so natural and it's not the type of "female-knight-but-with-half-of-her-body-naked" nooo this is just a real knight and I love it may I ask you how many time it took you to draw this sketch?

@suuperOh man, speaking of details. I keep THINKING I have the willpower those crazy good environment artists have when it comes to rendering fully detailed cityscapes but it just takes so long that I'm worried I'll lose interest in what I'm working on and never finish it. I've been trying to lab out a decent mid point for this, somewhere where I can still get those details without working as hard and so far, no dice.

My latest work that I posted on DeviantArt as a part of an ongoing art challenge between myself and a few friends, the theme was draw something about summer. So I drew my OC from my game project, Lydie enjoying some bubble tea! This is a good example of where I TRIED to do a cityscape but the tedium just broke me so I blurred everything and called it a day haha.

Late but ooooh hell yeah. You're really great with colour as well as drawing smexy smexy ladies devola. Keep at it. Always a treat to see your stuff.

Latest stuff: Love the armour and word on that knightgal. And that beach pick of Mordred (Always liked-hated that name haha) and Astolfo? *Inhale* Yes. I like. Very much. How do get inspiration for this stuff?

I barely managed to squeeze in some time to do some quick work, here it is!

Man I aspire for that level of squeezinability. And about an hour to do that armour? wow thats some quick detailed work. despite the overall sketchiness you got some great design on that and the rendering on the shiny objects is fantastic.

@LegoThanks man! Inspiration is fickle, it usually comes from music but the summer picture came from the heat of trying to draw in the middle of August haha.

@suuperThanks, I still need to study metals and get better at rendering them in more detail but I do feel like I'm making progress!

@WalterThanks again Walter :clapping:

Here is the Knight's Brigade, the playable characters of the Knight's faction! I'll be following this up with a little forum game just for fun once I get more designs done!

(https://i.imgur.com/Idlk8rz.jpg)

From left to right:

The Ferromancer, an armored mage that battles by manipulating metals. Can support allies by reinforcing their armor or attack enemies with conjured swords and golems. Not much is known about the Ferromancer, other than the fact that he hides his identity and rarely ever speaks. He enjoys gambling and the smell of rust.

The Guardian, an unconventional knight that battles with his fists. Using his raw strength and imposing physique, the Guardian can deliver devastating blows and grapple his enemies to protect his allies. The Guardian is a veteran of many wars, when he speaks, his voice is commanding and reassuring. The Guardian enjoys training his body and delivering motivating speeches, even if they aren't needed.

The Forceblader, a peasant soldier given knighthood in times of desperation. The Forceblade is a double edged weapon that is dangerous to both it's wielder and it's foes. In battle, the Forceblader can charge and store kinetic energy when they strike enemies, and unleash the stored energy in a display of magnificent destruction. Because of her peasant background, the Forceblader enjoys sleeping on bales of hay and caring for horses.

The Wyrm Hunter, a ranged specialist rarely employed outside of dragon hunts. The Wyrm Hunter wields a Dragon Harpoon, a devastatingly powerful but inaccurate weapon to hunt their prey. Wyrm Hunters can calibrate their weapons to home in on enemies that they have acquired blood samples of, and become destructive artillery units once they have their mark. The Wyrm Hunter is the Forceblader's younger sister, she is rowdy and unrefined but cares deeply for her allies.

Thanks all of you! Plans are delayed a tad due to a pretty rough work week but now I'm back to it with some extra free time, here are some sneak peeks at what I'm working on!

A bit of an update on the Knights, they've gotten real names now!

The Ferromancer is still just the Ferromancer, he's a bit of a mystery.The Guardian's name is Ludwig KrenThe Force Blader's name is Marche GeschwindThe Wyrm Hunter's name is Wrynn Geschwind

@LegoIf you end up getting MHW, hit me up on Discord, it's always fun hunting with the lads :clapping:

Next up, the newest member of the Knight's Brigade, the Court Mage Tieve Lannoc!

Despite her youth and lack of experience, Tieve is assigned by the Astral Court of Novost to monitor the Knight's Brigade. Where most Court Mages focus their efforts on mastering destructive spells, Tieve has chosen a more unconventional route. As such, Tieve acts as a versatile spell caster, capable of stealing enemy spells for her own use. Though her magic is unstable, Tieve's expansive repertoire of spells has more than secured her a permanent position among the knights. Tieve tries hard to act older than her age may suggest but she seems to have a misguided understanding about adulthood. She loves the feeling of paper and it is said that she has a wonderful singing voice, though she rarely shares it.

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(https://i.imgur.com/PJ8aWdQ.jpg)

Now for some sneak peeks:

WIP of the Asura faction, based on Oni from Japanese folk lore

From left to right:The Spirit Guide, a mystic capable of guiding malevolent spirits towards his foes, or directing benevolent ones to protect his allies.

The Shinobi, a stealthy warrior unashamed to use any means to defeat his opponents. Though weak in direct combat, his use of deception and poison is unmatched.

The Deva, an enlightened warrior that uses her iron body to pulverize her foes. Capable of channeling divine magic to heal her allies. The word pain isn't a part of her dictionary.

The Exiled, a master of many weapons. The Exiled abandoned their home to travel the world and master as many forms of war as possible. A versatile attacker capable of striking from any distance and exploiting any weakness.

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(https://i.imgur.com/RpDbvU6.jpg)

Next up, a sample of one of the enemy types these adventurers may be facing!

The Aspect of Cold Virtue

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(https://i.imgur.com/UGLbRKl.jpg)

And lastly, quickie sketch of the Force Blader and Court Mage

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(https://i.imgur.com/e3RPEWP.jpg)

Next up will be more detailed back stories on the Asura + their fifth member as well as sketches of the last faction, the Northern Kingdom!

Your drawings and sketches look really professional and i love your character designs! Especially spirit guide looks amazing, i love the design and colours :thumbsup: When you are drawing/painting colored works, do you start with values?

As always your quick sketches make me jealous :Plove the lighting on the last campfire one, and the first one has a great pose. I try that pose out every now and then but can't get it as cute as that :P

on the previous post, great coloured works and lovely new character designs on the ones that I haven't seen before. I love mages with magic books so that's a favourite for me!

Dang, you and your armor girls. Makin all us other raiders look bad. You've certainly found one of your specialties there, man. Sorry I don't chat as much on Discord lately. I will totally get around to remedying that sometime next month, probably. Kind of in the process of getting my life back together so that I can work hard and squeeze in quick sketches like that too. Especially if I keep working in laundry. Once everything's folded and the washers and driers are still going, there can be up to like twenty minutes of sitting on your hands doing a whole lotta nothing.

Hey! Sorry for the radio silence guys, but I'm back and uploading some recent sketches/works I've been doing. They aren't complete yet but I'm putting them up for reference at the moment, I will be working on finishing them soon!

@Miska @SuuperWhenever I do a colored work (and sometimes even if I don't plan on it) I always start with greys and work from there. It helps during the thumbnailing process to figure out where I want to set everything and it helps me personally paint a more complete picture in my mind. The clearer the pose, the easier it is for me to draw.

This one is lineart of a set of OC's that I was redrawing using my new art style. It's not that different from before but I'm trying stuff out! Character on the left is still a sketch at the moment.

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(https://i.imgur.com/R1yBlOL.jpg)

Another redesigned character, this time it's for my own comic that I've been planning on starting but never actually starting for a while now. Her name is Lilly and I've drawn her here before but this is the latest version!

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(https://i.imgur.com/EnMNUI8.jpg)Summer and Winter outfits

Lilly eating ramen. Something I've learned is that it's generally not too hard to draw characters posing but it's quite hard to capture ever day simple movements and gestures. Drawing someone just enjoying the afternoon, sipping a cup of coffee or eating a meal is quite hard! I've actually already done colored versions of these but I redrew them as I was unhappy with how the food turned out.

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(https://i.imgur.com/fDgKI2g.jpg)

Assorted sketches of the same OC

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(https://i.imgur.com/PGfVX20.jpg)(https://i.imgur.com/uRQRr7W.jpg)

Light ecchi warning on this one

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(https://i.imgur.com/2cMquqP.jpg)

That's it for now, still labbing out where I want to take my art but there's no rush so I'll be continuing at this super slow pace I've somehow set for myself haha.

I think it's super ok to go slow pace from time to time, y'know. Sometimes we even get better in those pauses. At least that's what I think. I pause for a while and in that time I just observe things, let it sink in, and next time I draw something has changed.

I really like the OC, especially the expressions when eating XD super cute!

And no matter of new techniques you use, I think your style is already very prominent regarding bodystyle, movement and character types. It's so funny how we're often not able to see our own style, but I'd recognize your drawings among a thousand.

cool sketches and character designs. I like the fantasy style your characters are normally in, although those look a tad more modernized with the gun and equipment?

aha yeah with any comic comes tons of expressions and "everyday actions"(tm). I've been meaning to grind that topic myself. perhaps because it's those everyday things that we relate to the most, that we find it easy to find things wrong with it, and pick out nuances that aren't quite right. much like drawing hands. it's something we see every day of our lives, and even though we know whats wrong in the drawing, it's pretty hard to draw them right.but despite you finding it hard, I think you've got those expressions pretty good.

a slow pace is still a pace, great to see you and your art around. keep it up and can't wait to see that comic!

Hey, thanks lads! Here are some more sketches I did for the MR visual novel project, things have slowed down for me quite a bit now that I'm back to work (and spending a lot of time playing Monster Hunter :sure:)

Corycaly WIP sketch (her hair will be black don't mind the values):

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(https://i.imgur.com/pgTgnnS.png)

MR-Tan sketch:

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(https://i.imgur.com/NGmEi5K.png)

Fronomenal sketch:

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(https://i.imgur.com/z8nd54H.png)

I'll try to be more active and get around to doing more over the weekend! I'm working on a big Persona 5 fan art picture at the moment as well so things are going to be quite busy.